Take My Breath Away

After having their lunch, Sheffield checked Evelyn's legs once again. Luckily, they looked much better after the treatment and there was no trace of the allergy.

Placing the dirty dishes into the dishwasher, he said to Evelyn and Joshua, who were about to leave, "Wait!"

"Why? Don't you have to clean up? I'll drive her back to her office," Joshua said as he changed into his shoes.

Sheffield wiped his hands on a towel, grabbed his coat and walked towards them. "It's my job to drive her back."

Evelyn sighed. "I don't need either of you to drop me. Tayson is waiting for me downstairs."

"I don't care. Let him follow us. I need to attend to something anyway." He needed to get rid of the tattoo.

The three of them left the house together. Sheffield dropped Evelyn off at the company.

He opened the door for her. "Thank you," she said.

"Evelyn," he called just as she was about to leave.

She turned around and looked at him.

"Do miss me while I'm gone." With a wicked smile, he winked at her.

The corners of Evelyn's lips lifted into an unnoticeable smile. But in the end, she still rebuked, "Don't expect this to happen again. We are not going to be together."

Sheffield's smile remained. He leaned against the car door and waved at her. "I'll cook chicken wings with plum next time, or maybe some toast with brown sugar and plum."

Evelyn left without turning back.

It was not until her figure disappeared into the building that the smile on his face gradually faded away.

'Eve, no matter how much you push me away, I won't give up, ' he swore.

To Evelyn's and Joshua's complete surprise, their parents met each other soon after that. They hadn't even told them the time and place of the meeting beforehand.

On the fifth floor of the Alioth Building

When Evelyn arrived at the building, she ran into Joshua, who had just gotten off work. "I'm sorry, Evelyn. It was probably my mom's idea. I had planned to put off the meeting between the two families, but my dad called your dad. I don't know what they talked about, but in the end, they decided to meet tonight," Joshua said.

Evelyn guessed that it must have been her father's idea to meet at this place. She slowed down and said, "I know. Let's keep our wits about us."

The parents were already seated in a private booth. Terilynn was there as well. She was playing on her phone, while listening to the conversation between the elders.

Seeing the couple come in together, Joshua's mother, Penelope Dong, stood up immediately. "Josh, what took you so long? Ah, this must be Evelyn! You look even more beautiful in person."

Evelyn looked at her hand that had been grabbed tightly by Penelope Dong. She then quickly greeted Joshua's parents gracefully.

Joshua had been staring at Terilynn from the moment he had walked into the booth. Hearing Evelyn's greetings, he turned to Carlos and Debbie. "Mr. and Mrs. Huo, good evening." Then, he turned to the younger sister, "Hello, Terilynn."

Carlos shook hands with him. Debbie sized him up with a smile and said, "Hello, Joshua. Take a seat."

Terilynn smiled, "Hello, Brother-in-Law."

Evelyn turned to glare at her. But unlike Evelyn, Joshua's parents, Darius Fan and Penelope Dong, seemed quite satisfied with the way Terilynn had addressed their son. They smiled contently.

Evelyn and Joshua sat together at the table. The atmosphere wasn't as awkward as they had expected. Evelyn remained silent. Debbie shook her head and said, "My daughter is a woman of few words. She takes after her father. I hope you will be more tolerant of her in the future, Mr. and Mrs. Fan."

Flattered, Penelope Dong replied politely, "Mrs. Huo, if Evelyn marries into our family, I'll treat her like my own daughter. Joshua, say something to your parents-in-law-to-be."

"It's too early to say anything, Mom," said Joshua, surprised by their conversation. "Evelyn and I have just decided to start dating and—"

"It's not early at all. You are not young anymore. Before you arrived, we already discussed and decided that you should get engaged as soon as possible. We will start the preparations very soon. You'll get married by the end of the year."

'Engaged?!' Both Joshua's and Evelyn's eyes widened in shock. This, they hadn't expected. Evelyn turned to Carlos, who remained indifferent, and said, "Dad, I've only started dating Joshua. I think we should wait a little longer."

Carlos disagreed immediately. "Mrs. Fan is right. Neither of you is young. It's time to get engaged. Love can be cultivated after marriage. You are both outstanding people. I'm sure you'll be happy together."

Carlos never joked around and that made Evelyn anxious. She tried to grasp at any straw she could find. "Dad, do Joshua's parents know what happened to my ex-boyfriends? What does Joshua think about it? It's not fair to him."

Darius Fan cleared his throat and said, "Take it easy, Evelyn. We know about it. Your parents didn't hide anything from us, and we haven't had the chance to tell Joshua yet. I don't believe in jinxes or coincidences. The murderers will be found. Don't worry, Evelyn. We'll try our best to protect you and Joshua."

Although Debbie didn't agree to the sudden engagement, she couldn't object it openly, especially not in front of the Fans. "Mr. Fan is right. We already have some clues about the incidents. Over time, the truth will come to light."

Evelyn stared at Carlos. "Does Mr. Fan know that a few months ago, I—"

"Evelyn!" Carlos' face darkened.

"Dad, I understand how you feel. But don't push us too hard right now, okay? We need time to get to know each other better. We can't get engaged so soon. I'm sorry. I hope you understand." Evelyn looked at Mr. and Mrs. Fan apologetically.

Penelope Dong was a little stunned, but soon tried to smooth things over. "Evelyn is right, Mr. Huo. We are being too pushy. We should let them be for now. Our children's feelings are more important than anything else."

"Evelyn, listen to me. Get engaged now. Love develops over time." It was rare for Carlos to be adamant in front of Evelyn.

Joshua took a deep breath and looked into Carlos' eyes. "Mr. Huo, thank you for approving of me. I'm truly honored. But Evelyn's feelings are important to me as well. How about we do what she desires?"

He had had absolutely no idea that Evelyn's father was Carlos Huo. He figured Sheffield wasn't aware either, that his future father-in-law was such a powerful man.

Joshua said a silent prayer for his best friend.

But when he stole a glance at Terilynn, he felt a dull pain in his temples. If he wanted to pursue the younger daughter, he had to deal with Carlos Huo too. He would end up having to go through the same test as Sheffield, and Joshua couldn't smile anymore just thinking about it.

'If I butter up the old man now, I might have a better chance in the future, ' he thought desperately.

Carlos stared at Evelyn unhappily, while Evelyn stared back at him stubbornly. The atmosphere in the private booth turned awkward and a little aggressive.