Evelyn was flustered by her father's sharp gaze. "Why are you asking me if you already know the answer? Dad, I'm almost thirty, and I need some privacy. Isn't Tayson going back to his hometown soon? Let him go back early."
"Nonsense! When Tayson leaves, I'll find a new bodyguard for you. You are not allowed to go anywhere alone."
Evelyn couldn't stand Carlos anymore. She pulled at her hair which unevenly fell over her shoulders and said irritably, "I want to get out."
"Why? Where are you going?" Carlos asked, his tone so cold that anyone else would have frozen over. But, not his dear daughter.
Evelyn raised her voice. "Dad! I don't get any freedom around you, do I? Stop the car!"
Terilynn was driving. She slowed down, but Carlos ordered coldly, "Terilynn, keep driving."
Debbie sighed. "Carlos, what are you doing? Evelyn should decide who she wants to be with. Stop worrying."
"No way! I have not meddled in her affairs before, but what did she give us in return? She got pregnant! And almost died after—"
"Dad!" Evelyn interrupted him. "Tell me. Why didn't you let me talk to them about that? You can do whatever you want, but I have to keep my mouth shut? Do you think I could hide my pregnancy from Joshua if we get married?"
"I'm not asking you to keep it from him. You can tell him in private. You can't just talk about it in a public place. And who is to blame for that, huh? You made the mistake of falling for the wrong guy." Carlos was fuming mad.
It was their first time arguing, and all because of a man none of them had ever seen, except Evelyn.
Trying her best to suppress her anger, she hissed in her sister's ear, "Terilynn, stop the car right now."
Terilynn also thought that they both needed to calm down. Ignoring Carlos' angry orders, she pulled over.
Carlos got out of the car after Evelyn and told his daughter coldly, "Evelyn, I will not allow you to see him."
Evelyn stopped in her tracks. She turned around and sneered at Carlos. "I wasn't planning on going to see him. But now that you're trying to stop me from doing it, I have to go to see him."
Saying so, she hailed a taxi and left.
Glaring at the taxi, Carlos took out his phone and dialed a number. "Do away with that man."
"Honey!" Debbie grabbed his phone and stared at the screen. "Are you insane?" she snapped. She put the phone to her ear and told the person on the other end of the line, "Dixon, ignore him. He's in a bad mood."
Dixon smiled resignedly. "All right."
Debbie cut the call and dragged the man back to the car, yelling, "Get inside! Tomorrow's headlines will scream that the CEO of ZL Group was fighting with his daughter on the streets. Aren't you ashamed? Terilynn, start the car!"
At that moment, Terilynn was typing a message to Evelyn. Hearing Debbie's yelling, she texted her at once. "I'll call you when I get home."
Carlos remained silent, leaning against the seat.
Evelyn, who was still in a fit of rage, was actually on her way to Sheffield's place. She wanted to show Carlos that she was capable of making her own decisions.
Moreover, she told Tayson, who had followed her all the way to his apartment, "Let him know where I am. And tell him that I am not coming back tonight. And I will move in and live with Sheffield from now on."
Tayson said with a sigh, "Miss Huo, your father was only doing it for your own good. Both of you need to calm down."
"I don't care." Evelyn was in no mood to listen to anyone's advice.
The moment she rang Sheffield's doorbell, she regretted it.
But it was too late. The apartment door was flung open. "Evelyn?" A wide grin appeared on Sheffield's face. He was overjoyed, just like the night in D City when she had taken the initiative to knock on his door.
Evelyn didn't know what to say when she saw the man in his pajamas.
He noticed that she was in a bad mood and moved aside to make way for her. "What's wrong? Come in."
Evelyn stood still at the door. "Is there any other woman in your apartment?"
Sheffield rolled his eyes and leaned against the door. "Yes, there are quite a few of them. Let's revel together."
Evelyn turned around to leave, but he grabbed her hand. "I'm just kidding. Come in."
She followed him into the apartment. It was quiet inside. There was no one, but them.
She looked around warily. Sheffield told her, "No women. I have never brought any women home… except you." He flashed a cute smile.
But that was not why Evelyn was looking around. After a short pause, she said, "Your cat..."
"Oh, don't worry. I disinfected the house this afternoon, and Horace's son has adopted Bailee." Since Evelyn was allergic to cats, he couldn't keep the animal at his place anymore.
'Did he send his cat away for my sake?' Mixed emotions surged in Evelyn's heart. 'He is always so...good to me.'
Sheffield led her inside and made her sit down on the sofa. He poured her a glass of water and sat beside her. "What happened? Tell me."
His voice calmed her down. She remained silent for a long time.
Instead of hurrying her, he took her into his arms and kissed her on her forehead. "I'm glad that you came to me. If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."
"My father wants me to get engaged to Joshua."
Sheffield's grip tightened on her arms. "Did you agree?"
Evelyn didn't answer. "Do you need to go to the hospital tonight?" she asked softly, resting her head on his shoulder. She knew that it was not easy being a doctor; they often needed to work night shifts.
"No. I'm focusing on my research and development right now. I don't have to go to the hospital."
"How's the research going?"
Sheffield smiled, "Not bad. Evelyn, are you here because your father wants you to get engaged to Joshua? Did you have a fight?"
'Someone must have provoked her so badly for her to actually come to me voluntarily, ' he thought.
Evelyn didn't respond. She was in no mood to answer any of his questions. Right now, she regretted yelling at her father and getting emotional in front of him.
"Is it your work? Or do you have some family issues?" he pried.
She still remained silent.
Without asking any more questions, he kissed her forehead and said in a relaxed tone, "The password to my home is 934082. You can drop by any time you want."
"Why are you telling me this? I won't come here again." She was only here tonight because she was furious at her father.