Chapter 96 This Time, I Won’t Lose
Evelyn’s grip tightened against Roman’s shirt.
She slowly shook her head, pressing her face against his chest.
Roman’s brows drew together in confusion, but he didn’t pull away. His hand settled at her back, moving in slow, steady circles.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured against her hair. “I took longer than I expected. It was an important call.”
“Mmm…” Evelyn murmured faintly, her voice muffled against him.
He let out a quiet hum in response, the sound vibrating through his chest beneath her cheek.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Evelyn inhaled slowly, grounding herself in his scent and warmth, and the steady rhythm of his breathing.
After a while, she pulled back.
The flash drive pressed into her palm.
She tilted her head up to look at him, her eyes searching his face for a moment.
Nathan’s words echoed faintly in her mind.
‘Roman is the only person connected to those people.’
The question in her mind, burned at the tip of her tongue.
Her lips parted.
“I’m tired,” she said instead, her voice soft. “I want to go home.”
Roman studied her, his hand still on her shoulder.
“Alright,” he said without hesitation. “My bad. I should’ve let you rest after work instead of dragging you out.”
His tone softened further as he leaned down and pressed a kiss against her cheek intimately, giving it a light bite as he pulled away
“Roman.”
Evelyn laughed despite herself, lightly hitting his chest.
The tension in her eased slightly.
His hand slid down to her wrist, then closed around her hand.
“Let’s go.”
He led her out of the fitting suite.
—
The moment they stepped out, the man who had received them earlier approached immediately.
“Mr. Sinclair.”
Roman didn’t slow down.
“Pack everything my wife touched today and send it to my house. My assistant will handle the payment.”
“Of course, Mr. Sinclair.”
Roman simply nodded and continued walking, pulling Evelyn slightly closer to his side.
Evelyn glanced up at him as they walked.
“…Are you really buying everything I touched?” she asked, a hint of disbelief still lingering in her voice.
“Mm.”
Roman responded casually, lifting his hand to smooth her hair back from her face in an almost absent gesture.
As they walked side by side, Evelyn’s gaze dropped briefly to their hands.
Her focus drifted.
Something in her hardened, sudden and unyielding.
‘I won’t drag Roman into any mess.’
‘Whatever this flash drive is… I'll handle it myself.’
Whatever Roman had done before didn’t matter anymore. He was the only place she felt safe now. And she would protect that.
Her grip tightened around his hand without her realizing.
Roman turned his head slightly, his gaze settling on her.
Something in her felt different. He couldn’t quite place it.
Still, he didn’t ask.
He squeezed her hand back.
If she wasn’t ready to speak, he would wait.
—
They reached the parking area.
Roman stepped ahead and opened the car door for her.
Evelyn was about to slide in when—
"Roman!"
A sweet voice cut through the quiet garage.
Evelyn stiffened. She straightened immediately. Finding the voice familiar.
Roman turned.
Amelia walked toward them, her hips swaying with elegance, her blonde hair catching the dim garage lights. She wore a fitted pink dress. Her expression composed into a gentle smile.
“Miss Kensington,” Roman acknowledged with a brief nod.
“I knew it was you when I saw your car,” Amelia said lightly. “I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Her gaze lingered on him.
“I come here often for custom pieces. I suppose we share similar taste.” She said, still refusing to acknowledge Evelyn on the side.
Evelyn’s fingers curled slightly.
Roman noticed immediately. How she ignored Evelyn
His expression cooled.
“I’m here for my wife,” he said calmly.
He reached out and drew Evelyn fully to his side, his arm settling around her naturally before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.
Amelia’s smile faltered for the briefest second.
Evelyn noticed. A faint smile appeared on her lips.
“We meet again,” she said lightly.
Amelia recovered quickly.
“Oh… I almost didn’t see you there. Mr. Sinclair was blocking the view.”
Her tone remained sweet, but the edge was unmistakable.
“This isn’t an official setting,” she added. “I assume I can call him by his name?”
Evelyn tilted her head slightly.
“Of course,” she said calmly. “You can.”
Then she paused.
“And by the way…”
Her smile deepened.
I gave my husband the coffee you so thoughtfully sent.”
She let the words settle.
“Roman doesn't actually like coffee. So he threw it all away."
Amelia’s expression cracked. But she quickly recovered.
“That’s not true,” she said quickly, turning to Roman. “You like coffee—”
Her voice stopped when she noticed Roman's attention was all on Evelyn.
He was watching her amusedly, with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Roman—”
“Miss Kensington.” His tone cut through cleanly.
He finally turned to her, his expression calm but distant.
“For future reference, please don’t send me anything again.We're not that familiar. And I wouldn't want my wife to misunderstand.”
Amelia's smile stiffened. "Roman, you're close with the Kensington family. You don't have to—"
“I am,” Roman interrupted. “Not to you.”
The words landed heavily.
“We don’t have business outside the office,” he added. “So I’ll be taking my leave. My wife needs to rest.”
He turned away without waiting for a response, guiding Evelyn toward the car.
Amelia stood frozen, her hands clenched at her sides, her face pale with barely suppressed fury.
Evelyn paused at the door, looking back.
"Amelia."
The woman's head snapped up.
Evelyn smiled sweetly.
"See you at work."
She slid into the car.
Amelia's lips parted, but no words came. Her fists tightened until her nails bit into her palms.
The car reversed and pulled away.
—-
Inside the car, Evelyn let out a slow breath, leaning back against the seat as she tried to steady herself.
Her heart was still racing. She couldn’t tell if it was from what had just happened… or everything else piling up at once.
Roman glanced at her briefly, one hand steady on the wheel. His other hand found hers without hesitation.
Evelyn immediately felt the grounding gesture.
She turned her head to look at him.
“Why do you keep her around?” she asked after a moment. “Your secretary.”
Roman didn’t respond right away.
“She clearly has feelings for you.”
Silence settled in the car.
Then he smiled faintly.
“She’s competent,” he said calmly.
“She understands the company well. And she’s not just an ordinary secretary. Her position is higher than that.”
He glanced at her.
"But if she's becoming a problem—"
"She's not a problem." Evelyn looked out the window. "I just don't like her."
"You don't have to like her."
She nodded, but her mind was already drifting elsewhere.
Evelyn knew Amelia wasn’t someone who would give up easily. And she wasn’t just anyone.
She's a Kensington.
She'd worked beside Roman for years, knew the company, knew the family. She had status she couldn't match.
Today had reminded her of something she had tried not to think about.
Status. Background. And the kind of world she had stepped into.
Her breathing steadied, but her mind refused to follow.
They shifted again. Back to the conversation she had with Maya.
“You realized you couldn’t get pregnant, so you made up a story.”
“You really can’t do anything right.”
“That’s why taking your fiancé was so easy.”
Evelyn’s lips pressed together.
Her gaze dropped unconsciously to her stomach.
‘Pregnant.’
The word lingered heavily on her mind.
Maya had taken Nathan from her with something so simple. That was the weapon she'd used.
Something Evelyn had never been able to give.
For someone like Roman..
There would always be better choices.
Women with stronger backgrounds, better standing, fewer complications.
He could have played it safe after that night in the hotel. Instead, he'd married her. A contract marriage that had become something more.
But for how long?
Her eyes lifted again, this time settling on Roman.
He was focused on the road, his expression calm, and composed as always.
Roman was more responsible than Nathan. More loyal. More everything. But she'd learned the hard way that love wasn't always enough to keep someone.
Maya's pregnancy had sealed Nathan's fate. If she had been pregnant first, would things have been different?
She pressed her hand against her stomach.
‘I won't let what happened with Nathan happen again. Not with Roman.’
She would work hard and give him what Maya had used against her.
‘I will get pregnant.’
The thought settled in her chest firmly.