Dangerous Secrets: My Mafia Stepbrother

Lilly’s judgment of people was astute; she noticed that Evelyn seemed to have lost weight. Initially, Evelyn had a well-proportioned figure, but now, she appeared fragile. “Yes, maybe it’s because I’ve been with my parents recently. My mom said I gained weight, so I wanted to lose some. Surprisingly, the effect is quite evident,” Evelyn said, smiling.

She didn’t mention that her unstable emotions made it difficult for her to eat. If it weren’t for James forcing her to eat, she probably wouldn’t have eaten anything at all.

Thinking of this, Evelyn couldn’t help but glance at James, only to find his eyes fixed on her.

Their gazes met in the air, and Evelyn immediately averted her eyes, feeling a tinge of embarrassment. Was James also paying attention to her while she was talking to Isabella? This thought made Evelyn inexplicably uneasy.

“Evelyn, you weren’t fat to begin with,” Lilly frowned. “I just made some strawberry cake and doughnuts for Isabella. Do you want anything? I can make something for you too.”

“Thank you, Lilly, but I’m good with just a cup of tea,” Evelyn replied. Although she was feeling much better than before, she still didn’t have much of an appetite, probably because her emotions hadn’t fully recovered.

Watching Isabella happily devour the strawberry cake, it was evident that she really enjoyed it. “Isabella, why don’t you have some? It’s delicious,” she urged Evelyn.

Evelyn took a piece. The sweet and sour strawberry flavor spread in her mouth, truly delightful, just as she liked it. However, after a few bites, she felt unable to eat more.

Soon, Lilly brought her tea and placed it on the table, and she also prepared doughnuts for herself and James, along with tea.

The three of them sat on the sofa, eating and chatting. It had been a while since Lilly had been this happy. Despite everything that had happened, with her own sense of failure and sadness, seeing Isabella getting better and spending time with Evelyn and James today made her very happy.

And Grazia’s child was about to be born!

During this time, they had lost a lot, but they had also gained a lot. Thinking about this, Lilly still felt cheerful. Life always gets better, doesn’t it? They would definitely get better in the future.

Although Evelyn didn’t have much of an appetite, thanks to the encouragement from Isabella and Lilly, she ended up eating quite a bit.

After having a doughnut and a few bites of cake, Evelyn felt uncomfortably full. The sugary taste lingered in her body, and she felt much better emotionally.

Watching Isabella enjoying her food and her hot cocoa, Evelyn couldn’t help but admire how Isabella could consume so many sweets in one go.

“Since you’re here, do you have time to go shopping with me? It’s been a while since we went shopping together,” Isabella suggested.

“Of course,” Evelyn smiled. “It’s been a while since I went out shopping too.”

James nearly burst out laughing upon hearing Evelyn. They had just been out shopping, and had bought quite a lot. It was during that time that Evelyn’s mood had improved.

As a grown man, he didn’t understand why women felt better after shopping, but as long as they were happy, he was happy too.

Despite Evelyn not liking him, it was his misunderstanding, he still liked her and wanted to protect her. Once he saw her healthy and happy, he would leave her.

Isabella took Evelyn shopping. “Evelyn, this dress would suit you perfectly. Why don’t you try it on?” Isabella handed Evelyn a light yellow dress, thinking it would suit her bright complexion.

“Alright,” Evelyn took the dress and stepped into the fitting room to try it on.

After Evelyn went into the fitting room, Isabella turned to James. “James, I think Evelyn is emotionally stable now, and since William is gone, you can pursue Evelyn.”

James shook his head, “Evelyn doesn’t like me.”

He had asked and confirmed it. If she didn’t like him, pursuing her would only disturb her.

“Evelyn said she doesn’t like you?” Isabella was shocked. It couldn’t be true. She was good friends with Evelyn, and she knew that Evelyn couldn’t hide her feelings when she liked someone. She remembered the way Evelyn looked at James before; she clearly liked him.

“Yes, I asked her before,” James was straightforward.

“God, there must be a misunderstanding. James, believe me, Evelyn likes you.”

Including today, when she saw Evelyn with James, Evelyn didn’t seem indifferent to James at all. Sometimes, Evelyn’s gaze towards James was affectionate. Isabella didn’t believe that Evelyn didn’t like James.

James, seeing Isabella so certain, didn’t know what to say andwas awkwardly scratching his nose.

“But, Evelyn said to me herself that she doesn’t like me. Could it be that she doesn’t really like me?”

“Perhaps there’s a reason behind it? James, trust me,” Isabella said.

As soon as Isabella finished speaking, Evelyn came out of the fitting room, showing Isabella the dress.

“It looks great, Evelyn. This color suits you,” Isabella complimented, then turned to James. “What do you think?”

James and Evelyn were both taken aback by Isabella’s sudden question. James remembered that Evelyn didn’t have this color of clothing. Currently, her wardrobe consisted of mostly light or cold colors, such as black or gray. Seeing her in this light yellow dress, she seemed to radiate vitality like she was being illuminated by the sun, giving her a renewed sense of life.

James recalled the day in the hospital when Evelyn sat in the sun on the lawn. She was like a beautiful painting at that moment, and that’s what prompted him to ask her those questions. However, Evelyn’s response had pained him, and he was reluctant to dwell on it.

After observing Evelyn for a moment, James nodded. “It looks good, very good.”

Evelyn blushed slightly at James’ praise. “I’ll go change back into my clothes,” she said and went back into the fitting room.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Isabella immediately turned to James, “See that? Evelyn cares about you. Look, she was just shy a moment ago.”

James felt a bit bashful. He was a grown man, but he had never liked a woman before. He had just noticed that Evelyn’s expression had indeed been shy.

“If she didn’t like me, would she be shy because of my praise?” James still felt uncertain.

“Of course not. James, when a woman feels shy around a man, it’s because she likes him. Have confidence, Evelyn needs you.”

Isabella thought that Evelyn probably hadn’t fully recovered from the psychological trauma William had caused her. She probably didn’t dare to love another man again. She hoped that James could win her over with his actions.