Chapter 16 A solution, not a daughter
Evelyn’s POV.
For a second, I thought Mom was trying to make us laugh.
Trying to start the evening on a good note.
Then I saw her face.
She meant every word.
“Eva?” I called but she only lifted her eyes for a brief moment before she turned back to the table.
She won’t talk. She doesn't want to.
“Dad?” I called but he also wouldn't give a response, he couldn't even look at my face.
I chuckled.
“Somebody tell me this is a fucking lie! Some sort of joke! Anything!” I raised my voice, just loud enough for everyone at the table alone to hear.
It was a family matter and everyone was present at the table so it had to be solved quietly.
I could feel Mira and Dera standing behind us like shadows.
If they heard this, the whole mansion would hear it.
And if Adrian heard it the wrong way…
I didn’t even want to imagine what he would do.
“The fashion house is gone, Evelyn,” Mom finally broke the silence.
“For real this time.” She added. “For eternity.”
My mind went blank.
Then thoughts flooded it again. I couldn't breathe properly.
Not Again?
Not after everything I had already sacrificed?
My throat tightened so hard I couldn’t even speak.
What the hell was happening? Was it Adrian again? But why?
I closed my eyes, and took several deep breaths.
“Somebody, please explain,” My voice was getting hardened.
My hands curled into a fist.
I wanted to flip the table.
Ruin the food. Shatter the wine glasses.
Anything to stop myself from falling apart in front of everyone tonight.
“I heard about it this evening,” Eva said.
“Mom and Dad were talking about it and I overheard, they weren't planning to inform me.”
“Dad made a bet with the fashionhouse," Eva revealed.
I turned my burning gaze to Dad.
“When the fucking hell did you start gambling and making bets?” I yelled, loud enough for someone a few feet away to hear this time.
He turned to me and I hated that he still had that fierce look on his face.
He caused this mess for our family, but he would never be the one to clean it up.
“i didnt gamble with it,” he argued. “It was a business deal and the stake was the fashion house. I lose the deal and the winner gets it.”
He continued. “If I had won, I would have gotten the entire Denklings Group,” he argued.
I scoffed, his voice had a tinge of regret because he lost the prize he was supposed to get. The Denklings Group.
“But you didn’t win! Look at where your bet got us! Now the fashionhouse is gone!” I couldn't modify my voice anymore.
“Not only the fashionhouse, Evelyn,” Mom interrupted.
“Everything is gone. All the money was staked in that stupid deal!” she sounded furious.
“Goddamnit! How do we solve this now? Get Eva married to another billionaire?”
“That's the most important thing now,” Dad said and the calm in his voice made my jaw clench.
What kind of father gambles his entire fortune away… and then turns to his daughter for a solution?
Fathers were meant to cover his family… not depend on his children to clean up his mess.
“There's only one hope now, Evelyn and that's you” he said.
I laughed bitterly, because I was also the only hope and option he had the last time he did this.
Now, this!
My gaze darkened. “I’m married already. What will it be this time?” I asked.
“Let your husband get here first, then you find a way to save us,” he said.
Something hot twisted in my chest.
Of course.
I wasn’t his daughter right now, I was his solution. Again.
We held each other’s gaze for a while and it felt like we were communicating through our eyes.
I understood him and I knew what he meant.
He needed Adrian to be here, distracted, so I could go dig things out in his study and room.
Everyone sat in silence as we waited for Adrian who took a long time before he appeared.
While we waited, I thought about what they had just told me. Denklings was the company that held the interview Adrian and I attended.
They took the fashionhouse.
I wondered how Dad met with them but I knew they were both people in business. I didn't know the people involved in my father's business circle so there was no way I would know.
A few minutes later, Adrian showed up in a black T-shirt and jeans, unaware of the chaos at the table.
His hair was still damp, water clinging to the strands.
The kind of look that made women melt.
“So, good evening everyone. I’m not late, am I?” He asked, a smirk on his face.
He took his seat on the chair and looked at everyone's face except mine.
The look on his face looked different from the one he had when he was ascending the stairs earlier.
My Dad stood up to greet him, extending his hand for a shake.
Adrian took his hand carelessly, withdrawing almost immediately.
“You wanted to see where I'm making your daughter live,” he brought his gaze to me then back to them. “Then here it is.”
“Feel free to check her room too,” he added.
“We should start the dinner, shouldn't we?” He said, his voice raised for Mira and Dera to hear.
They moved close and opened the bowls used in covering the meals. There was steak on the first plate, french fries and peppercorn sauce on another with chicken breast placed differently.
“Enjoy the meal,” Adrian said and faced his meal, eating in silence.
I took the first cut of steak into my mouth but I couldn't focus. The food lost taste in my mouth.
My gaze kept snapping to Dad and his gaze also didn't leave mine.
He signalled me to move. It was time to do what he wanted.