This was the night you call 'that night'

Evelyn’s POV

A baby.

The one thing Beatrice had screamed at me about for forty-eight months, and the one thing Daniel had used as a cold weapon to distance himself from my bed.

He wasn't sterile. He just hadn't wanted a child with me.

"A baby?" I choked out, the word bitter in my mouth.

Sophie smiled sweetly as she smoothed her hand over her perfectly flat stomach.

“A Pierce heir, Evelyn. Something a woman built like a linebacker could never provide for a man like Daniel."

Laughter erupted around me, making the ache in my heart increase.

I dared to look at the crowd and met eyes with some of Daniel’s board members. The very people I had saved from a business crisis were laughing as if it was the funniest thing they had ever heard.

I looked from one cruel face to the other, but even then, I swallowed my shame and turned back to Daniel, who was also laughing.

"Daniel, please," I sobbed, dropping to my knees. I didn't care about my pride anymore.

The seventy-two hours of work, the exhaustion, and the heartbreak made me frantic.

"I’ve given you everything. What more can you ask for? My health, my sleep, my entire life. You can’t do this, please.”

Daniel looked down at me, and for a second, I hoped he would smile at me and tell me he wasn’t going to leave me.

Instead, a cold look crossed his face.

"Get up, Evelyn. You’re making a scene," he hissed. He didn't even try to lower his voice.

" The decision is made and Sophie is the future of this family. Stop fooling yourself.”

"I am proud of you for finally doing what’s right,” Beatrice chimed in, her voice dripping with venom.

"She has no shame at all. Look at her, begging like a dog."

They broke into another round of laughs and I lost it, a low sound vibrated in my chest and before I realized it, it slipped out. It was a growl.

The laughter stopped for a while and even Daniel stiffened.

I threw myself at Daniel and clung to his legs as I desperately begged him not to divorce me.

At this point, I didn’t even mind if he got Sophie pregnant, I just wanted to be addressed as his wife.

Daniel pushed me away like I was contaminated before walking away with Sophie clinging to his arms.

“It’s so good to finally see you break,” Beatrice said before walking away as well.

I crawled after Daniel, begging him to give me another chance, but he didn’t even spare me a glance.

"Security," Daniel called out coldly.

Two uniformed men walked to me and dragged me off the floor before walking to the exit.

“Daniel, please!" I cried out desperately, but they didn’t stop, nor did Daniel meet my eyes.

They tossed me outside into the raining night and slammed the door shut in my face.

I quickly clung to the door to avoid the rain. A second later, the door opened again and my suitcases were tossed onto the wet pavement after me. All my pleas fell on deaf ears.

An angry-looking Daniel stepped out. He held a thick stack of papers and a pen.

"Sign them now, and I’ll give you a severance check," he said. His voice was so cold I could barely recognize him.

"Refuse, and you leave with nothing but the clothes on your back."

“Please…."

“Damn it, Evelyn, don’t you get it? We are done and that’s final. I’m not going to force you to sign this, but you’re surely going to regret refusing. What do you say?”

He was right.

Getting a severance check was better than having nothing to my name. I labored for him for four whole years until I completely forgot about myself.

Seeing the cold look in his eyes, I knew there was no changing his mind.

Through my tears, I gripped the pen and shook so hard from the cold that my signature was barely recognizable.

“Good,” was all Daniel said before retreating back into the mansion and slamming the door in my face.

As I stared off into the night, I realized I was totally alone with no home, no husband, and worse of all, my body was slowly giving up.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone with trembling hands. I scrolled past Daniel’s name and past Beatrice’s until I found the only person who had always given me a shoulder to cry on in all four years of torture.

"Alex..." I sobbed into the receiver when he picked up.

"Please. He threw me out. I’m at the gates. I can’t... I can't breathe."

"Evelyn?” He yelled at the sound of my voice.

"Stay right there, I am on my way,” Alex said before hanging up.

Drained, I crumbled to the floor and slumped against my suitcase as I shivered under the cold when I suddenly heard footsteps approaching.

A pair of polished black shoes stopped right in front of me. I raised my head to meet him, he stretched an umbrella to me, while he was soaked and didn't seem bothered by the storm at all.

It took me a second to recognize him, the man with Daniel from earlier.

“Let go of the gate,” he said quietly.

Before I even realized what I was doing, my fingers loosened their grip. I frowned at myself.

Why did I listen to him so easily?

He crouched down a little, keeping some distance like he didn’t want to scare me. His eyes moved over me carefully, studying my body. Then his gaze stopped at my fingers, I followed his line of sight and I froze, my nails were longer than usual.

“What the hell?" I muttered, I never fixed long nails.

“You’re bleeding,” he said.

I looked again and only then noticed the cut across my palm. I hadn’t even felt it.

As soon as the rain touched the blood, the scent increased and his pupils changed colours for a moment. I stared at him and he stared back.

At this point my heart had started beating fast from fear and something else.

I felt like my body recognized him even though my mind didn’t.

“Why…” my throat felt dry. “Why are you helping me?” He didn’t answer immediately, just looked around and said simply.

“Because they shouldn’t have thrown you out,” then after a short pause, his voice became softer,

“And you shouldn’t be alone tonight.” My chest tightened at those words.

No one had said something like that to me in years.

Before I could ask anything else, the headlights of a black SUV pulled to the entrance.

The man got up immediately and his calm expression hardened slightly as Alex rushed out of the car towards me.

“Who are you?” Alex asked sharply, sizing him up, but he didn’t answer him and only glanced at me one last time.

“Kael,” he said. “If you ever need help, call me and I hope you don't figure it out on your own.” He slipped a small black card into my hand.

Then stepped back into the rain and walked away.

I hoped so too.

When I tried to stand, my vision blurred one last time.

I woke up to the beep of a heart monitor that made me realize I was back in the hospital. I turned my head and saw Alex sitting in a chair by the bed with his head in his hands.

"Alex?" I croaked.

He looked up, his eyes were bloodshot.

"You're awake. Thank God."

Memories came crashing down on me and I choked out a sob.

“I lost everything," I whispered, the tears starting again.

" He has a baby coming. Sophie is pregnant."

Alex stood up and moved to the side of the bed, taking my hand in his. His grip was firm and reassuring.

"Evelyn, look at me. That bastard doesn’t deserve you."

“So, who does?” I cried, frustrated. “Who in their right mind would want a woman like me? I am disgusting.”

“Don’t say that, please. You did everything you could. Life isn’t over yet and I am right here by your side.”

“No….” I whimpered as tears flowed down my cheeks.

His eyes held emotions I couldn’t explain.

"Trust me, everything is going to be okay.

" The doctor ran your blood work while you were out," he said quietly.

I felt a chill go through me. "Is my heart failing?”

"No," Alex replied, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"Evelyn, you didn’t just pass out due to stress. You’re ten weeks pregnant."