###Chapter 3
420 Words
Evangeline spun, expecting to see the shameless pair tangled together. Instead, she met Jackson's concerned gaze.
"Evie, what's wrong?" he signed, his devastatingly handsome face betraying no guilt.
Her icy stare shifted to Aveline, and her blood ran cold.
Aveline's tight skirt was hiked up to her thighs. Her knees were red, marked unmistakably from kneeling.
Even if he'd been quick, the evidence remained.
Evangeline felt her blood boiling. A dull ache twisted in her abdomen.
"Evie, you're pale. Is it morning sickness again?" Jackson signed, his expression nothing but tender worry.
Evangeline gazed at Jackson's handsome and sincere face, her eyes burning.
The raised hand dropped to her stomach.
How could he cheat so effortlessly?
Because she was deaf? Because he thought she'd never know?
Evangeline's lips trembled as she forced out the words,"Jack, let's di..." Let's divorce!
But the moment she opened her mouth, bitter sorrow choked her voice.
All those memories from seven years together came rushing back. Her love now weighed her down.
"Evie? What did you say?"
As Jackson spoke, the elevator jolted violently before plunging into darkness.
"Ah! Jax, I'm scared!" Aveline shrieked.
The sudden movement threw Evangeline hard against the corner.
Her skull slammed against the elevator's unyielding metal wall while a searing pain tore through her abdomen, cold sweat drenching her body.
Evangeline covered her stomach and called to Jackson,"Jack... help me... Save our baby..."
But Jackson's response was for Aveline."Ava, don't be afraid. I've got you."
He called her Ava? His first instinct was to protect his mistress.
When Evangeline was shocked, a warm, sticky fluid began trickling down her thighs.
She murmured silently,"Hold on baby... Mommy will protect you..."
Her hands pressed desperately against her belly, but her breathing grew ragged, and her consciousness slipped away.
At that moment, she was plunged into deep despair.
Those few minutes stretched into an eternity of torment.
When the doors finally opened, fresh air rushed in.
"Mr. Daugherty, I feel so sick... I can't breathe... I'm dying..." Aveline whimpered.
"Let's get you out immediately. Deep breaths." Jackson guided Aveline out without a backward glance.
Tears blurred Evangeline's vision as she stared at his retreating figure.
There she lay, his pregnant wife, blood pooling beneath her.
Had she truly become so invisible to him?
"Miss, are you okay?"
The repairman, assuming she was alone, helped her from the elevator.
"You see? This is why women need men in emergencies. That lady was so lucky. Her boyfriend protected her perfectly."
"That's my husband," Evangeline rasped.
- Writer
