Pov of Evelyn ①
The acrid stench of disinfectant choked the air as I lay on the hospital bed, fingertips grazing my hollow abdomen. Tears streamed down my face unchecked. Four days had passed without a single visitor, not even Ethan Taylor, who once doted on me like a precious jewel. My baby was gone, and he, of all people, had become the last to reveal the cruel truth.
A month earlier, I’d discovered I was pregnant with trembling joy, eager to share the news with him. But when I pushed open our bedroom door that fateful evening, there he was Ethan Taylor, entwined in our bed with Olivia Collins, the woman he’d introduced as his “cousin.” My world shattered. Stumbling backward, I fled, only to feel violent hands shove me from behind on the stairs. When I awoke, the doctor said those words every mother dreads: “We couldn’t save the baby.”
Grief choked me, each breath tasting of ash when the door slammed open. Ethan stood framed in the doorway, an immaculate suit and eyes colder than steel. He tossed a stack of documents into my lap. “Olivia told me everything—how you planned it, how you hated the baby for tying you down. Don’t play innocent. Sign it, Evelyn Morgan,” he spat, his voice devoid of warmth. “You murdered my child. I won’t stay married to a monster.”
“Divorce?” The word gutted me. Clutching the bedsheets, I choked out, “I didn’t kill our baby! Someone pushed me. You think I’d kill my own child? I felt hands on my back that night, Ethan! Ask your ‘cousin’ where she was when I fell!”
“Enough lies.” He recoiled, as if my touch burned. “Whether you sign or not changes anything.” With that, he strode out without a backward glance.
The divorce papers blurred through my tears. This was the man who’d held me through my parents’ suicide after our family’s bankruptcy, vowed to love me forever. For him, I’d abandoned graduate school abroad. For him, I’d quit my dream job. Now he’d chosen Olivia, the homewrecker over me.
“Ethan Taylor,” I hissed, fury steadying my voice, “you think I’ll let you win?” He froze, turning with a glare that could flay skin. But I no longer cared. He’d betrayed me. Stolen our child. I’d burn his perfect life to ashes before letting him and that woman live happily.
Alone, I grabbed my phone, trembling fingers typing: You’ll regret this. As the message was sent, I swore an oath: I’ll make them pay. Even if it destroys me, I’ll bury them both.
Olivia, Ethan, and his mother Sophia froze when they spotted me in the city’s largest mall, their smiles brittle as glass.
I’d gotten a tip, Olivia’s smug i********: post about ‘retail therapy’ with Ethan. If I wanted answers, the mall was my battlefield.
Of course they never expected me here, the recluse who hadn’t left her apartment in months.
I beamed with deliberate cheerfulness, my grin so unnerving that Olivia Collins flinched. “Ethan, let’s go,” she urged, tightening her grip on his arm.
Leaving so soon?
I lunged in front of them, shoving Olivia’s hand aside with practiced efficiency. “Olivia Collins,” I chirped, “care to explain why you’re clutching my husband? Or did you forget I’m the lawful wife here?”
Ethan’s jaw clenched, fury simmering in his eyes, but he stayed silent.
Finally, Mother-in-law Sophia snapped. “Evelyn, stop this madness!” Her voice dripped ice. “My son severed ties with you. You’re the one refusing to sign the divorce. How dare you harass us like some pathetic stray?”
Ignoring her, I turned to Ethan with the tender familiarity of our past, looping my arm through his. “Let’s go home, darling. That house belongs to us.” My voice cracked artfully. “Don’t you remember your vows?”
He recoiled as if scalded. “Get lost, Evelyn. I’m done with your theatrics.”
Nice. Just the heartless reaction I needed.
“Keep your claws off my husband,” I warned.
Olivia smirked: “He’s done with you, honey.” That’s when my hand flew, cracking across her cheek.”
The force sent her sprawling, but Ethan’s retaliation was instant. His slap snapped my head sideways.
“You’ve crossed the line,” he growled, cradling Olivia. “My lawyer will finish this.”
Sophia shrieked beside us, “You monster, Evelyn! That slap proves you killed your own child! Divorce, this marriage ends now!”
I lost this round, but they showed their cards - Olivia is afraid of being exposed.
I fled through the gawking crowd. A security guard shouted for us to stop, but I shoved through the crowd, their whispers trailing me like knives.
My lungs burning with rage. I didn’t know where to go, only that I needed to outrun the suffocating betrayal. Then...
Crash!
A metallic scream split the air. Strangely, I felt no pain. My body floated weightless, like a feather caught in a breeze. Car accident, I realized dimly before darkness swallowed me.
When I stirred, my skull throbbed. Blinking against harsh lights, I saw a man leaning over me, sharp jawline, eyes like storm clouds. “Awake at last?” His voice held a scolding edge. “Do you have any sense of self-preservation? Charging into traffic during a red light, do you think you’re invincible?”
“Thank you… for saving me,” I rasped, forcing a smile as pain radiated through my ribs. Tears pooled despite my efforts.
He handed me water. “I called your husband. He hung up when I mentioned your accident.”
“He’d celebrate my death,” I whispered. “But I won’t give him that satisfaction.” A tear escaped.
The man leaned back, studying me. “Let me guess: another vengeance story. A devoted wife believes in ‘forever,’ only to be discarded when her husband climbs the social ladder. She considers dying but realizes death would let the betrayers off too easy. So she survives, haunting their lives until justice bites back.” He paused. “I’m no saint, but men who abandon the wife who stood by them through hell? Despicable. If you need help…” He slid a business card onto the bedside table.
I squinted at his retreating figure. “Wait, the nurse said I’m barely injured!”
“Mostly bruises and shock, that’s a miracle.” he called over his shoulder. “But your body’s a warzone. Rest.”
He very gentlemanly wiped away my tears.
Alone, I traced the embossed name on the card: Liam Harrison. The name rang a distant bell, like an echo from a forgotten life.
