The Mafia Lord's Secret Lover - Chapter 153

Chapter 153: Don’t You Trust Me?
Evelyn froze.

Axel’s voice lingered in her mind, “Eve, do you have a secret I don’t know?”

For a heartbeat, she couldn’t move. Her fingers twitched slightly against the blanket, betraying the sudden rush of nerves that crawled up her spine.

She glanced up to meet his gaze, trying to keep her expression calm and unreadable.

“That’s… an interesting question to wake up to,” she said carefully.

He was watching her, the early sunlight brushing over his face. He looks so calm.

Evelyn drew in a quiet breath, hiding her unease behind a faint smile. “No, Axel. I don’t have a secret.”

It was a lie. And she hated how easily it left her lips. But she couldn’t help it. Years of surviving mode have made her what she is now.

But what choice did she have? If he knew the truth, that she ran a shadow network gathering classified intel for clients who didn’t ask how she got it, everything she’d built would collapse.

Not just her safety, but Oliver’s too. And of course Oscar.

Still, she made herself meet his gaze directly, the way she always did when she needed to win a negotiation.

He didn’t look convinced.

She sat and asked softly, “Why that question?” folding her hands over her lap to stop them from trembling. “You suddenly sound like you’re interrogating me. Should I be worried?”

Axel also sat, resting his back on the headboard, his lips curving into that half-smile. “Should you be?”

Her heart gave a nervous thud, but she kept her voice steady. “You tell me.”

There was a pause.

Brief.

But heavy enough to make the air shift between them.

Then she sighed, shaking her head as if trying to brush it off.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been listening to Liam’s ridiculous theories again. He probably told you I have a secret twin in another city, or I have a secret lover without you knowing?”

Axel chuckled softly, though his eyes didn’t entirely lose their edge. “You could pull it off.”

“Please,” she muttered, trying to sound dismissive. “If I had a secret life, I wouldn’t be spending my nights arguing with you over who gets the left side of the bed.”

He smiled at that, a real one this time, and the tension in the room eased just a little.

Evelyn exhaled slowly, her relief masked behind a calm demeanor.

“Axel,” she said after a moment, her voice quieter, “why are you suspicious of me all of a sudden? Don’t you trust me?”

His gaze softened then, but not enough to comfort her. There was still something in his eyes. Not distrust, but curiosity laced with unease.

“I do trust you,” he said. “But sometimes, when someone’s too perfect at hiding things, you start to wonder what they’ve hidden from themselves.”

Her stomach turned cold. He wasn’t talking about her hacking. Not directly. But the way he said it made her wonder if he somehow ‘felt’ that she wasn’t being honest.

Then another thought struck her. One sharper and more dangerous.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Axel… did you investigate me?”

He didn’t answer right away. His silence said enough.

Her pulse jumped. “You did,” she murmured. “You had someone look into my background.”

Still, no reply. He simply looked at her.

She gave a soft, humorless laugh. “I see. So this is how you handle trust issues. You hire someone to dig up the truth for you?”

“Evelyn,” he said finally, his voice low but calm, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

Her lips parted, but no words came out. She wanted to argue, but she couldn’t because she’d done the same thing. She had Oscar checking on his family, too.

He sat facing her, reached for her hand, his touch warm, firm, and grounding.

“And, as I said before… I trust you,” he said again, brushing his thumb over her skin.

He added, “I just had a nightmare. It felt too real. You disappeared, and I couldn’t find you anywhere. When I woke up, it still felt… wrong. Like it meant something.”

Evelyn blinked, her defenses softening.

He sounded so genuine. Not suspicious, but afraid.

Her anger gradually transformed into quiet empathy.

“Axel…” she whispered, and her voice gentled. “It was just a dream. I’m here.”

He nodded, gently resting his forehead against hers. Their hands stayed entwined. “I know. I just needed to hear you say it.”

The intimacy of that moment flooded her like warm light. His sincerity disarmed her, causing her chest to ache with guilt.

She wanted to tell him everything… that she wasn’t who he thought she was, that her hands weren’t as clean as they looked. But she couldn’t. Not yet.

So she did what she could. She wrapped her arms around him and murmured, “You worry too much, Mr. Knight.”

He chuckled softly. “Someone has to.”

They stayed that way for a while, tangled together in the quiet of the room, until he finally kissed her forehead and rose from the bed.

“Come on,” he said lightly. “It’s time to start the day.”

Evelyn smiled faintly, still sitting up against the headboard. “Already?”

“I promised Oliver my fluffy pancakes for breakfast.”

She arched her brow. “Ah. Bribery through breakfast.”

He grinned. “It works every time.”

When he disappeared into the bathroom, Evelyn leaned back against the pillows, closing her eyes briefly. The sound of running water echoed from behind the door.

She let herself exhale. Her heart was still beating too fast.

Axel’s words played again in her mind. “Do you have a secret I don’t know?”

If he ever discovered the truth, she wasn’t sure what would happen to them.

Her phone vibrated softly on the bedside table, startling her.

Evelyn reached for it, grateful for the distraction from her troubled mind.

But the moment she saw the name on the screen, her pulse raced once more.

Oscar.

She opened the message.

“Got something, boss. Be careful with this one. The name Maxime Knight popped up in a private database I hacked. Sending you the file.” From: Oscar.

Evelyn’s pulse quickened as she cast a quick glance at the bathroom door, then shifted her focus back to her cell phone.

She tapped the file open.