Chapter 70 CHAPTER 70
Michael's POV
“Will you marry me, Rosaleen?”
I stared at the ring I had given to Evelyn just a week ago. The ring had been found with the letter. It was heartbreaking to give it to Rosaleen now, but I was watching her. I wanted to see if she recognised it.
Her eyes fell on it as I slid it into her finger. She raised her hand and stared at it. It was brief but I saw it. She recognised the ring. It could only mean that she had handled or seen it recently.
“It's beautiful, Michael!” Her eyes teared.
I smiled.
She brought out her phone and captured different angles of the ring on her finger against the background of the table. Then she raised her hand up and shouted, “I'm getting married everyone.”
The diners looked confused for a while, then everyone cheered and clapped.
She clung to me after dinner, insisting she spent the night with me at the house. I didn't want her there but I didn't want any suspicions, so I agreed.
She got into the car with me and leaned against my shoulder. “What made you change your mind so fast, Michael?” she asked.
“It was the right thing to do,” I answered flatly. Too flat.
She shuffled and looked at my face. “I know you are trying to do the right thing, but I'll make sure you love it too.”
I nodded and kissed her forehead. I closed my eyes on the drive, thinking about Evelyn. I was worried about her safety. I was hoping my private investigator would give me something tangible soon. I needed to hear everything from her first. I had judged her based on the views of others before, and I had been sorely wrong. I wouldn't do that again.
Rosaleen was given one of the guests' rooms while I pretended to be on a call. I didn't want to explain to her why I didn't want her in my room. I was afraid the truth would show in my face. I slipped away, the phone against my ears. Jasper was waiting in my study. He was drunk.
“This is new,” I said, peeling my coat from my body. “You should be sober after stabbing me in the chest like that.”
He hiccuped and belched. “Alpha Michael, did you think I went too far?”
I glanced at him briefly, then turned around to pull out a stack of papers. “You went too far.”
He sniffed. “I don't know what I feel right now. Part of me desperately wants to hate her, and yet, I want to hold her and tell her that I don't care about it all.”
I stopped. He was talking about Tamara. “I'm sorry, Jasper. We've both lost in love apparently.”
“Can you believe she's a Dover?” He continued. “I don't know why she did what she did but these last few years felt real. Fuck!”
I sat on the chair. “You need to get busy, Jasper. And I need to find someone urgently. Maya Calderon when you are sober, I need to get her contact information. Or get someone on the inside that can speak to her.”
He mumbled incoherently. I rose up and tossed a key to him. “Enjoy as much wine as you can have.”
I returned to my room and locked the door. I let out a deep sigh of relief as I removed the remaining pieces of clothes on my body. When I slept that night, I dreamt of Evelyn.
—
Maya found me before Jasper could. I was waiting at the agreed location she had texted. She arrived minutes later, wearing a hoodie and her eyes darting around the cafeteria. I rose up to receive her.
She slid into her seat before I could stretch my hands towards her. It seemed as though she was hiding. Perhaps she was being followed.
“I'm so glad you could come,” she said. “Thank you for meeting me.”
“I was looking for a way to reach you too,” I said. “As you must know, Evelyn Moon has been missing for a few days and you were the last caller traced to her phone.”
She nodded, then looked outside.
“We were speaking on the phone when I heard some screeching sound and a crash,” she said. “I think it was an accident.”
“An accident? Her car was not found,” I said.
“It is strange,” she continued. “When I heard the news your family was spinning, I was torn apart. My niece is missing, just the same way her mother had gone missing for years.”
I leaned forward. “What my family is doing is politics and I apologise that you are bearing the brunt of it. But we have to focus on finding Evelyn right now.”
She nodded.
“I know you were meeting her secretly before all of these. I also know you were the last person in contact with her, Maya. I want you to convince me that you are not involved in her disappearance in any way,” I said. “I just want to cross this out so we can work together."
She clasped her fingers. “I found her when I kept getting nightmares about her. I wasn't sure what it meant but they didn't stop. When I found her, she told me she was having a constant nightmare too.”
I nodded. I was familiar with the nightmares.
“From the dreams, it was obvious her mother was trying to warn her about something but we couldn’t understand what it was. When I told her of her mother, she didn't believe she could still be alive.”
“So, is her mother alive?”
She nodded. “But I've not been able to find her since she ran away.”
I raised my brow. “She ran away?”
She let out a deep sigh. “Her type …they are not really accepted in society. When she became pregnant with Evelyn, Madeline found out and threatened to expose her. To protect her child, she made a deal with Madeline to take her place. She hasn't been found since then.”