CHAPTER 5

EVELYN

My legs finally obeyed me.

Without thinking, I followed them. I wasn’t sure what I expected to find, but I couldn’t make myself turn away. I stayed several steps behind, careful not to let them notice me. My heart pounded so hard it drowned out the traffic outside the hospital.

I wanted to believe there was another explanation. Maybe I had misunderstood what I’d seen. Maybe she wasn’t pregnant. Maybe she was just bloated.

But deep down, I knew I was only lying to myself.

They looked… happy together.

Not like two people hiding an affair or guilty lovers sneaking around. They looked like a couple expecting their first child. Comfortable. Happy. Completely at peace with the future they were building together.

As I watched them, an uncomfortable realization settled over me.

Chloe wasn’t simply younger than me. She looked eerily like the woman Julian had fallen in love with in college. Me.

The same honey-brown hair. The same bright smile. The same carefree glow I’d left behind years ago. It was like staring at an old photograph brought to life.

And suddenly, I couldn’t stop wondering…

Had Julian fallen in love with Chloe? Or had he simply gone searching for the younger version of the woman he’d grown tired of?

Cheating was one thing.

But getting his mistress pregnant…

That was something else entirely.

Especially when I hadn’t been able to give him a child in four years of marriage.

Julian opened the passenger door for Chloe before walking around to the driver’s side and getting in. Just before she closed the door, she turned her head. Our eyes met.

For one long second, neither of us looked away. Then she smiled. It wasn’t warm, and it certainly wasn’t guilty. It was the smile of someone who believed she’d already won. A smile that said, You saw exactly what I wanted you to see. Now live with it.

The car pulled away from the curb and disappeared into the busy afternoon traffic. I remained where I was, staring after it long after it had vanished from sight.

A sharp vibration pulled me back to reality. My phone. My hands trembled as I unlocked it, and my stomach sank the moment I saw the same unknown number on the screen.

Somehow, I already knew opening the message would only make everything worse. But I opened it anyway. There were two pictures. The first was a pregnancy test report. The second was a black-and-white ultrasound image.

I stared at the screen, unable to understand why she was doing this. What did she gain from hurting me like this?

My vision blurred with tears as I looked beneath the photos.

“I am pregnant with the child you couldn’t give him in four years of marriage.”

For a long moment, I couldn’t look away from those words.

Four years.

She knew exactly how long we had been trying. She knew exactly where to sink the knife, and she didn’t hesitate.

Memories crashed into me one after another. The fertility clinics. The endless blood tests. The appointments that never seemed to end. The doctors smiling kindly as they assured us there was nothing medically wrong with either of us.

Then came the nights I cried myself to sleep after another month ended with yet another negative pregnancy test. The relatives who whispered behind my back, calling me barren, infertile, and less of a woman. Every word had stayed with me, no matter how hard I tried to pretend it hadn’t.

Every single time, Julian had been there. He would wipe away my tears, kiss my forehead, and tell me everything would be okay.

“We’ll have our baby someday,” he’d whisper. “When God says the time is right.”

A broken laugh escaped before I could stop it.

Maybe he had stopped believing in “the right time. Maybe somewhere along the way, he’d decided I was never going to be enough. So he chose someone else. Someone who could give him the child I never could.

That thought hurt even more than the affair itself. It felt as though someone had reached into my chest, wrapped a hand around my heart, and squeezed until I could barely breathe.

A low rumble rolled across the sky, and seconds later, the heavens opened. Rain poured down without warning, sending people running toward nearby shelters while I remained exactly where I was. Within moments, I was completely soaked.

Rain streamed down my face, blending so perfectly with my tears that I couldn’t tell them apart anymore.

Still, I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure I had the strength to take another step.

Another clap of thunder echoed overhead before I finally forced myself toward the roadside. I lifted a hand, trying to flag down a taxi. One drove past. Then another. Neither of them slowed down.

I reached for my phone, hoping to call Paige. The screen was black. I pressed the power button once. Nothing. I tried again. Still nothing.

A fresh wave of tears spilled down my cheeks.

I wrapped my arms around myself as the rain continued to pour. My thin blouse clung to my skin, and a shiver ran through my body.

Just as I began wondering what I was supposed to do next, a black luxury car slowed to a stop beside me. The tinted rear window rolled down.

Viktor Sullivan.

For a second, I honestly thought I was imagining him. Why did I have to see him again? Today, of all days.

He looked at me through the rain, his expression calm. "What are you doing standing out here?” he asked. “Get in.”

I quickly shook my head. "Don’t worry. I’ll get a taxi.”

He glanced at the dark sky before looking back at me. "No taxi driver is going to pick up a passenger who’s soaked and dripping all over the seats. And this rain isn’t stopping anytime soon.”

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "Get in. Stop being stubborn. I don’t bite.”

I hesitated.

The memory of the hotel flashed through my mind. The wrong room. The humiliation. The way I’d practically run away from him.

I wished I had another choice, but I didn’t. Finally, I opened the door and slipped into the back seat. The warmth inside the car wrapped around me almost instantly.

Water dripped from my hair onto the leather seat. "I’m sorry,” I murmured. “I’m getting your car all wet.”

“That’s nothing to worry about,” he replied. “It’ll dry.”

The driver quietly pulled back onto the road. Neither of us spoke for a while. The only sound was the steady rain tapping against the windows.

Then Viktor shrugged off his coat and held it out to me. "Wear this.”

I frowned in confusion. Then I looked down. Only then did I realize why. My soaked blouse had turned almost transparent. The outline of my bra was faintly visible through the wet fabric.

Heat rushed to my face.

Not again.

Why did every embarrassing moment in my life seem to happen in front of this man?

“I…” I stammered before quickly taking the coat. "Thank you.”

I wrapped it tightly around myself, wishing I could disappear into the seat.

Silence settled between us once again.

After a while, Viktor looked out the rain-streaked window and spoke quietly. "I saw them too. At the hospital. I had some business there.”

I turned to him slowly. "I see.”

A moment later, he spoke again. "If you need help… I know a very good divorce lawyer.”

That made me look at him. Despite everything, the corners of my lips lifted into the faintest smile. Of all the things I’d expected him to say, that certainly wasn’t one of them.

Was he really encouraging me to divorce his own nephew?

I lowered my gaze. "I’ve already hired one. The papers should be ready in a few days. Thank you.”

He looked mildly surprised but said nothing.

A short while later, the car pulled up outside my house. The rain had eased into a light drizzle.

I handed Viktor his coat. "Thank you,” I said sincerely. "For the ride.”

He gave a small nod, then stepped out before I could. Walking around the car, he opened the door for me. I stared at him for a second.

I couldn’t believe the almighty Viktor Sullivan was opening a car door for me.

My heels clicked softly against the wet pavement as I headed toward the front gate. I’d barely taken a few steps when one heel slipped on the slick ground.

I gasped.

Before I could hit the ground, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. I fell gently against a solid chest. For one stunned second, I found myself staring into Viktor’s warm blue eyes.

“I’ve got you,” he said quietly.

Before I could thank him—

A furious voice tore through the air.

“Let go of my wife!”