Chapter 470
Sophia was worried they didn’t grasp her meaning, so she clarified, “My brother bought this gift for Evelyn.”
Evelyn snapped the box shut, then leveled her gaze at Dominic. “What’s this supposed to mean?”
Tension crackled between them like static.
Michael wasted no time ushering Sophia and the kids out of the house.
It wasn’t healthy for children to witness their parents arguing too often.
Once outside, Sophia turned to Lily and Henry, explaining, “Dominic might have picked out Evelyn’s gift, but I was the one who chose yours! Me! You have to accept them!”
“Okay,” Lily agreed, already tearing into her present.
Henry, however, kept his eyes locked on the living room.
“Relax, kid. Your mom’s carrying that jerk’s baby—he wouldn’t dare mess with her,” Michael reassured, nudging Henry’s shoulder. “Let’s go grab some ice cream.”
“I’m not leaving,” Henry said stubbornly.
He wasn’t about to abandon his mother.
Sophia took his hand. “Come on, let’s go! My brother won’t hurt Evelyn. When he was picking her gift today, he wanted to buy the whole store for her! He adores her!”
Henry shuddered at the thought.
That bastard Dominic Blackwood knew how to love someone?
Not a chance.
Inside, Dominic settled onto the couch across from Evelyn.
He had anticipated her rejection.
That’s exactly why he’d brought Sophia along.
Evelyn might have accepted it if Sophia hadn’t blurted out the truth.
“Is this some kind of compensation for carrying your child?” Evelyn pushed the gift box toward him. “What else could it be?”
“Do I need a reason to give you a gift?”
“Why else would you?” she shot back.
“Sophia didn’t need a reason to buy presents for your kids.”
“You’re not Sophia, and I’m not a five-year-old.”
Seeing her defiance, Dominic relented.
“If your daughter likes it, give it to her.”
“Lily doesn’t take hand-me-downs,” Evelyn said coolly.
Dominic had no retort.
“Anything else?” she asked, her tone making it clear he should leave.
He glanced outside.
Michael had already herded Sophia and the kids away.
“I’ll wait here for Sophia,” he said flatly.
Evelyn blinked in disbelief.
Dominic’s behavior toward her had done a complete one-eighty.
She was used to the old him—their past dynamic had felt almost normal in its predictability.
“Did you shower Zoe with gifts the second she got pregnant too?” The words slipped out before she could stop them. “Our relationship hasn’t changed just because I’m carrying your child. This sudden kindness? It feels patronizing.”
The way he treated her now was nothing like before.
Did he think pregnancy had rewritten who she was?
She hated the idea of respect being tied to offspring.
This baby was just as much hers as his.
Even if Dominic raised it, she refused to be sidelined.
Her words made Dominic frown.
Bringing up Zoe could only mean one thing—Evelyn was still bothered by her.
In her eyes, he was tainted. That would never change.
No matter what he did, she’d never let herself care.
Dominic almost laughed at his own naivety.
He’d actually thought the baby would bring them closer.