The Billionaire's Rental Wife Is A Hot Shot
Chapter 137: Similar Past

Chapter 137: Similar Past

Evelyn’s mouth widened in shock, her eyes darting between Ronan and Carson wondering if he was pranking right now. But the way Ronan’s eyes held a tinge of sadness, it stopped her from questioning him. Even Caron’s jaw tightened, fear clouding his face as if he hoped for this secret to always remain in the dark. But alas, truth would always see the light, even if one tried to bury it deep in the ground. She understood all too well after William confessed to her birth secret.

"How’s that possible?" Evelyn blurted out, finding it just hard to believe. "I am sorry if I sound rude but I never this coming," she added, reasoning his shock. The worst she anticipated was for Laila to be his long-lost sister, or one taken away by someone out of vengeance. But step sister? That only meant Ronan’s mother was in an extramarital affair since Laila was three years older than them.

"Mom was in an affair with someone else, but her family didn’t approve. She realized she was pregnant and gave birth to the child before marrying Dad." Ronan explained, having heard the story from his mom herself. A few years ago she had confessed everything when she was sick and bedridden, her last wish was for him to search for his half-sister and give her the life she deserved.

"And you knew all about it before my scandal took place?" Evelyn questioned, feeling their lives getting entangled in the messiest way possible. The woman who was pretending to be William’s real daughter right now, one that wasn’t swapped at birth by the maid and didn’t die in that accident, turned out to be his sister?!

Though Evelyn was aware and accepted the truth that she was only Grace’s adopted daughter from an orphanage, she still felt bad for William as this man would stop at nothing to disclose Annabelle’s real identity unlike her who was waiting for the right opportunity. She just hoped for Ronan to treat her kindly now that Laila was carrying another life within her.

Ronan shook his head in response. "I realized it when we first met that day," he replied, heaving a small sigh.

It was because of this scandal and meeting Annabelle when he went to Vespara city to propose to Evelyn that he realized it. Laila’s true appearance, one that was almost a replica of his mom was hidden that he ignored to catch in the photos. But when they were face to face, it was hard to ignore the cruel truth.

Evelyn slowly nodded, putting the pieces together. "So that’s when you first saw her..." she murmured, but Ronan shook his head, intriguing her even more.

"My mom used to visit the orphanage where she had left Laila. She used to take me with her and I always wondered why she cared so much about one particular. Seems like it was Laila from the beginning," Ronan replied with a bitter smile. The memory was still vivid in his mind. He was twelve and didn’t like how Brianna kept adoring a girl, that he had gotten jealous. Whenever they went again, he used to try to pick on Laila but his mom stopped taking him with her.

Evelyn pursed her lips, having no words of consolation. It was odd how she and Annabelle shared the same fate as kids. But unlike her biological mother, Brianna at least took care of her child which might have helped Laila grow up well.

"But what happened after it?" Evelyn asked, getting curious about Laila’s back story. She had heard it from Damien already but Ronan had a different perspective on it.

"My maternal grandparents realized it and sent her away to a faraway orphanage, telling my mom that they had killed them. But my mom got to know it only when she was dying, and her last wish was to see her once." Ronan ended the story in a few lines. He didn’t like talking about it, as though he had grown up, the fact that his mother wanted to have someone else beside her instead of him while dying grated him. It was childish and immature but he just couldn’t straight with it.

Evelyn realized Ronan didn’t like talking about it and stopped asking further questions. She then glanced at Carson who seemed to have a request for her, it was quite visible in his expression. "Is there something you want me to do?"

"Yes!" Carson gleamed in a smile. At his boss’s nod, he continued, "From the looks, Vincent seems like a dumbass and we don’t want Young Miss to suffer taking care of him. So if she doesn’t love him, can you please take care of him until we handle things here?"

Evelyn’s brows furrowed at his words. Why would they want her, the one who had suffered so much because of Annabelle in the past few months take care of her? Her eyes widened in realization and blurted out, "Doesn’t your grandparents know about it yet?"

If they did, Evelyn was quite sure they wouldn’t allow Annabelle to enter their family. Especially Benjamin Igor who would do anything to keep his reputation high and untouchable.

"Mama knows it," Ronan replied with a small sigh. Looking up at her, he continued, "I know it’s too much to ask from you but can you make sure she is safe?"

"Don’t worry, my dad... Mr. Wright is taking care of her." Evelyn replied with a bitter smile. "He still thinks she is his real daughter whom they lost in an accident when she was a year old. So Laila would be safe as long as the truth is hidden."

"And you are not planning to reveal it?" Ronan asked with a frown. From what he had observed Evelyn looked hell-bent on avenging everyone who had ruined her.

"Well, my main target is someone who hired her." With a small sigh, Evelyn added, "And there are so many secrets that keep getting unveiled every day about my past it isn’t the right time to expose Laila. I am afraid it would block me from reaching whatever happened in the past."

Ronan didn’t press further since Evelyn was being cautious about revealing not too many things. Her life felt more messier than him and he only hoped for her to find peace eventually. With Zevian and Damien Velanti’s support, he was sure she would reach the end of it.

"So as long as you are not disclosing her secret, no one else will." Evelyn ended with a small smile. "Annabelle is wickedly smart and capable of protecting herself." She added, though hated admitting it herself.

Carson was the one to heave a sigh of relief. Ever since Ronan had returned from AWE’s party, confirming Annabelle was the one, he hadn’t been able to sleep well. But it seemed like things would be under control as long as they tried to maintain them.

"It’s quite late," Ronan murmured, checking at his watch. "Let me drop you."

"No, it’s fine." Evelyn shook her hands. "Rita is waiting for me outside." She added. They exchanged goodbyes before she was driven back to the villa with Rita.

"She got lucky," Evelyn couldn’t help but murmur under her breath. Living with Vincent would be hard and she knew Annabelle had no true feelings for him. Laila didn’t wish to be like her biological mother and that was the reason she wasn’t aborting it, but Ronan would always be there to help her raise the kid well. The only problem would be getting out Wright family’s trap as soon as possible before Sophia pulled something for her too.

"Are you missing Master, Madam?" Rita’s question brought Evelyn out of her thoughts. She had been sighing quite a few times and Rita assumed that must be the reason.

"I am!" Evelyn admitted with a smile. Though it had been only a day, she was missing him badly! And her little bear too who would be now crying and fussing to go to school.

Rita giggled in response. Taking a turn on the road, she suggested, "Just send him one of your sexy pictures and he will be flying here the next minute."

Evelyn blinked in surprise, before laughing out loud. Turning to her new assistant/bodyguard/new friend, Evelyn agreed, "Thanks for the tip! I will try it tonight."

"Make sure to send it in the morning since it will be a night for him," Rita added with a serious expression, making Evelyn laugh again. So she was being serious about it! She mused in her head, making a note to try it out.

———

The next day, Evelyn got busy from the time she woke up. Since all her staff were living in the villa, they could easily discuss things over breakfast and fix their schedule for the day. Once they were done, the drivers quickly drove to the location, With Benjamin already waiting for her.

"Good Morning, Gracie!" The elder man beamed in joy. Having retired and burdened his grandson with handling his family business and the underworld, he was quite a free man now.

"Morning, Mr. Igor." Evelyn greeted him with a smile. They all walked inside and her staff started the presentation.

"Oh, you can use my phone! I have a copy in it," Evelyn suggested as the poor woman had forgotten the pen drive. They appreciated her efforts and took her phone to copy the file to the computer, connecting it with the white screen projector arranged to showcase the important changes.

"So, Mr. Igor, this is how we are planning to decorate your entrance," The staff started and Benjamin leaned forward to observe the details.

The meeting continued and Evelyn heard her phone buzz. Assuming it must be Zevian, she instantly picked it up and opened the chat. Her eyes almost popped out when he saw his message, attached with a perfect picture of his upper body.

[Good Morning, Sweetheart.]

Zevian had replied to her last night’s message, and Evelyn continued to stop herself from clicking on the picture. It seemed like he had just taken a bath, his shirtless, toned body making her swallow hard.

Evelyn was so lost in admiring her shameless yet hot husband that she didn’t realize that the room had also become dead silent. Someone couldn’t hold and squealed, bringing her out of her fantasy. With a frown she looked at her staff, her eyes then slowly falling on the big white screen.

Zevian’s picture hung huge, unfiltered, and breathtaking! It was as if she were seeing a billboard where he was posing for a brand, showing his perfect abs even more clearly! A blush crept down her cheeks, her entire body heating up in embarrassment as she didn’t realize her phone was still connected to the screen. Her eyes caught Rita standing at a distance, apologetically looking at her!

Evelyn cursed her with a glare! She would never take her advice again!