Page 22 of Engaging Evelyn (Blissful Bets)

The guys both looked at her like she had lost her mind. Brandon laughed hysterically at her scolding. She was absolutely adorable when she was upset. He was sure that he’d never seen anything like it before.

* * * *

Evelyn couldn’t believe her eyes. Brandon’s living room was destroyed. There were two large holes in the walls, not to mention that Brandon was bleeding. Holy shit. She should have never gone anywhere. The thoughts of what they were plagued her the whole way home, but the moment she had seen them harming each other, her fear went to the back burner. She couldn’t deny that she somehow felt connected to both of them. And seeing them hurt each other hurt her.

“Stephen, you better explain what the hell you’re doing over here, right now,” Evelyn half whispered.

The look he gave her was of complete astonishment. She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to proceed. After a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair.

“He told you and it wasn’t his business.” Stephen glared at Brandon. “She had a right to know,” Brandon snapped.

Stephen opened his mouth to pop off something and thought better of it. He glared even more at Brandon.

“What?” Evelyn asked. “You both are hiding something. Brandon, obviously there is something Stephen wishes to tell me but has decided against it. Would you like to inform me?”

The haughty smile left Brandon’s face immediately. He looked over with a nervous expression toward Stephen, who in turn raised a go-ahead, tough-guy eyebrow back at him. Evelyn stomped her foot and let out a scratchy, pathetic excuse for a scream that bounced off the holey walls.

“I swear to God, if either one of you is hiding something from me, I’ll…kick both of your asses. I think enough secrets have affected my fucking life already. I better not find out about another. If either of you have something to say, say it now because if I find out later, I’ll be pissed.”

“Evey, we can’t tell you. It’s better if you didn’t know.” Stephen walked forward and held out his hands for her.

Evelyn rolled her eyes in disgust and turned to Brandon. “We don’t know each other that well, but I trust that you’ll tell me the truth. What is it that I’m not supposed to know?”

Brandon put his head down and let out a ragged sigh. “Evelyn, if this was anything else, I would tell you. But you have to understand that I can’t. Do you know that saying, ‘If I tell you, then I’ll have to kill you’? Yeah, well, in this case, I would.”

The words hit Evelyn hard. Her mind raced over part of the conversation she’d had with her ex. She recalled Stephen calling Brandon a vampire. For some reason, her hands flew to her neck. Like a tidal wave, everything rushed back to her, the table breaking, the bite…

“You fucking bit me last night. Oh my God, I remember. You broke the table. You are a…vampire. Shit…Stephen, you were right.”

Stephen groaned, slamming his fist into the wall. Evelyn jumped at the sound of the impact and the fresh hole to go along with it. Brandon collapsed to the sofa, looking paler than he originally was.

“What? Was I not supposed to know?” Evelyn then recalled his words. If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you. Panic set in and she did the only thing she could think to do; she ran like hell. There was no way she was going to die.

Evelyn was halfway down the stairs when an arm wrapped around her waist and clamped over her mouth. A scream tried to escape, but nothing would come out. This was a fucking resort—where was everyone? She couldn’t see a single soul, anywhere.

Suddenly, as if they had just appeared, they were back in Brandon’s apartment. Stephen was still standing in the same area as before, but now was pacing angrily. Evelyn kicked and tried to bite Brandon’s hand. She was willing to do whatever it took to get loose so she could try to escape again.

“What the fuck are we going to do now?” Stephen snapped at Brandon.

“Well, my friend, that is up to you.” Brandon released his hand from her mouth. With the amount of burning in her throat, she knew she wouldn’t be able to yell for help. Her mind raced while she tried to think over a solution.

“What the fuck about me, damn it,” Evelyn whispered. “I should have a say about what the hell is going to happen to me.”

Stephen walked over to Brandon. “Let me take her, make her my mate, and that way no one has to know. If anyone asks, I gave you permission. She’s allowed to know if she’s my mate.”

Brandon tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, but Evelyn doesn’t want to be with you. She already asked you to remove the bond you two share.”

“She hasn’t even given me a chance to redeem myself. I was young and stupid. The way I ended things was all wrong. I should have never lied and said I loved someone else when I didn’t,” Stephen growled.

“It took you two years to remember about her. Give me a break. Plus, if she wasn’t marked to begin with, I could have wiped her memory completely. If she was truly your mate then I wouldn’t have been able to get to her anyway. You would have protected her. She’s supposed to be glued to your side, your wife in every sense.”

Evelyn could see another fight brewing. This was just beyond ridiculous. Although she feared what they were, she couldn’t let them kill themselves. Her mind might have been screaming, Run, but her heart wouldn’t let her. “I have an idea if you both would just shut up and listen,” Evelyn said, stepping away from Brandon. “How about Stephen removes the mark, and then I will gladly let you erase my memory and we can all move on like nothing ever happened. Sorry, but I’m not sure I want to be with either of you. I’d rather start off brand-new and make my own decisions.”

They both looked at her. Brandon was smiling, and Stephen looked confused. The room became eerily quiet as everyone thought over the options. Stephen was the one to break the silence.

“I don’t know, Evelyn. Why can’t you just give me a chance? It would be so much easier.”

Evelyn took a deep breath. “Because, Stephen, what happens if it doesn’t work? Then what? We’ll go through the same scenario as we are now? I don’t think so. We should start over new while we have the chance.”

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