Chapter 422: I Have The Right To Know

Amanda’s brows lifted instantly.

“Huh!? Didn’t Axel give you a proper wedding gift? I mean, proper to his wealth. Not just a normal gift.”

Evelyn was surprised by her reaction. Before she could respond, Amanda spoke again.

“My foolish son didn’t give you something impressive? Like company shares? Luxurious property? A private, beautiful island? You know he could give all of that without even hurting his pocket, right?”

Evelyn nearly laughed. She quickly shook her head.

Even though Axel had not handed her corporate assets, what he gave her had never been measured in numbers.

“He gave me a lot,” Evelyn answered gently. “More than enough.”

“Oh! That sounds suspiciously diplomatic. You deserve more.” Amanda paused, narrowing her eyes as she tried to read Evelyn’s expression.

Then, a smile slowly appeared on her lips as she continued, “My dear Eve, please don’t defend him. You must allow me to scold him for that.”

Evelyn chuckled softly, lowering her voice. “I’m serious. He gave me things far more important than shares or material things.”

Amanda watched her for a moment.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

A slow, knowing smile spread across Amanda’s face. “Oh dear, that’s good to hear. Very good.”

She patted Evelyn’s hand affectionately. “My son survives another day without being scolded.”

Evelyn laughed quietly.

But Amanda suddenly straightened. “Oh, right.” Her eyes widened slightly. “I must go rescue my little grandson.”

Before Evelyn could respond, Amanda was already rising from her seat.

Alexander frowned immediately, sensing something had happened to his wife. “Dear, where are you going?” he asked.

Amanda waved dismissively. “I need to see my grandbaby Oliver.” Her tone was urgent. “If I don’t intervene, your parents will spoil him completely tonight.”

Alexander stood as well. Then turned toward Axel and Evelyn. “You two will stay here overnight.”

Axel opened his mouth instantly.

“Dad—”

But it was pointless.

Because Alexander and Amanda were already walking toward the door with surprising speed.

The study door closed behind them, and silence filled the room.

Axel chuckled.

Evelyn laughed softly beside him. “They didn’t even wait for your protest.”

Axel leaned back comfortably.

“My father never waits when he has decided something.”

She smiled. “And your mother?”

He smirked. “She’s far more cunning and dangerous.”

Their laughter lingered softly in the quiet study, warm and unguarded, until something suddenly crossed Evelyn’s mind with unexpected weight.

The smile that had been dancing on her lips slowly faded, replaced by hesitation and curiosity.

She turned toward Axel, her fingers instinctively wrapping around his arm.

The touch was gentle, yet there was a subtle tension in her grip, one that Axel immediately sensed without needing to look.

“Axel…” she began quietly, her voice carrying a seriousness that contrasted sharply with the playful mood they had just shared.

He glanced at her, still relaxed, still leaning back comfortably, the trace of amusement visible in his eyes.

“Yes, dear?” he asked casually, unaware of the storm brewing inside her thoughts.

Evelyn hesitated briefly, gathering courage before voicing the question that had been circling relentlessly in her mind.

“Why did your father suddenly bless our relationship?” she asked, her tone calm but undeniably searching.

The air inside the study shifted almost immediately.

It was not an uncomfortable silence, nor an angry one, but something heavier, something filled with memory, uncertainty, and the quiet echo of years neither of them could ignore.

Evelyn had wanted to ask this from the moment Alexander handed her the shares. A blessing from Alexander Knight was not something she could easily accept without question, especially when she knew how deeply he had despised her father for decades.

Axel’s expression, however, remained remarkably bright, as though the question itself amused him more than it troubled him.

“Why are you even asking that?” he replied nonchalantly, a lazy smile tugging at his lips.

Evelyn said nothing, waiting patiently for him to continue, though her eyes already reflected skepticism.

Then—

Axel moved closer, his voice carrying a playful confidence that seemed almost naturally effortless. “The answer is obvious,” he said. “He utterly cherishes Oliver. Something he had never felt and done before to anyone in his life.”

Evelyn narrowed her eyes instantly, her reaction swift and entirely predictable. Axel immediately recognized that look, the one she reserved exclusively for moments when she believed he was being deliberately absurd.

“If that were the reason,” Evelyn replied slowly, her tone calm yet edged with unmistakable logic, “your father would not have prepared a share transfer letter for me so quickly.”

Axel blinked once, clearly aware that his convenient explanation was collapsing under the weight of his wife’s reasoning.

“That document,” Evelyn continued, “was clearly arranged long before Oliver even arrived. This was not a spontaneous emotional decision.”

Axel sighed, though the amusement in his eyes remained. “My intelligent wife ruins all my brief and spontaneous explanations,” he muttered with exaggerated defeat.

Evelyn did not smile, which only seemed to entertain him further.

“Why are you giving me that disbelieving look?” Axel asked, gently taking her hand again, his thumb brushing against her skin in a calming gesture that softened none of her determination.

She did not pull away, but neither did her expression relax. Instead, Evelyn simply stared at him, her gaze steady and quietly insistent.

“You don’t believe me?” Axel asked again, this time with a faint frown creeping onto his face.

Rather than answering directly, Evelyn spoke with deliberate clarity. “What exactly happened between your father and mine?”

The shift in Axel’s demeanor was immediate and striking. The lightness drained from his features as though someone had extinguished it entirely, leaving behind something far darker and deeply unsettling. Disgust flickered across his face first, followed swiftly by anger.

Evelyn’s heart tightened painfully at the sight, because this was no ordinary irritation.

She had seen Axel furious before, had witnessed his cold ruthlessness and terrifying composure.

But this reaction carried something different, something far more personal and deeply rooted.

’So,’ Evelyn thought silently, her chest tightening with unease, ’whatever happened between them truly wounded him.’

The silence stretched heavily between them. Axel said nothing, his jaw tightening as though he were wrestling with the truth he had long kept buried.

Finally, Evelyn leaned forward slightly, her voice firm despite the nervous tension coiling inside her chest.

“Axel, listen to me,” she said gently but resolutely. “I am mature and intelligent enough to live with the truth, and I know I have the right to know the truth. To know what really happened.”

That made him turn.

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