The Truth in His Eyes

Evelyn's POV 

Richard's smile froze on his face.

"What?" he said.

I held up the iPad. My hands were steadier than I expected. "I asked you a question. Who is Victoria?"

He put the wine bottle on the dresser, his movements slow and careful. "Evelyn, why were you looking through my messages?"

"Answer me."

"I need you to calm down first."

"Do not tell me to calm down!" My voice cracked. "Who is she? Who is the woman having your baby?"

Richard's face went pale. He opened his mouth, closed it, then ran his hand through his hair. That was his tell. He always did that when he was about to lie.

"It is not what you think," he said finally.

"Really? Because I think you have been sleeping with someone named Victoria for months. I think she is pregnant. I think you married me to get close to my father's money." I stood up, the iPad still in my hand. "Tell me which part I got wrong."

He moved toward me but I stepped back. "Do not touch me."

"Evelyn, please. Let me explain."

"Explain what? The photos? The messages? The fact that you gave her the same bracelet you gave me this morning?"

Richard looked at the bracelet on my wrist, and something like guilt crossed his face.  I actually wanted him to feel guilty.

"Her name is not Victoria," he said quietly. "It is Tonia. Victoria is just… a code name we used."

"Tonia." I laughed, but it sounded wrong. Broken. "Your business partner Tonia?"

He nodded.

"The woman you said was like a sister to you? The one you told me not to worry about?"

"It just happened, Evelyn. We were working late one night and..."

"Stop." I held up my hand. "I do not want to hear this. The explanation is not necessary…so save it ."

"You asked me to explain!"

"I asked you who she was. I did not ask for the details of how you betrayed me."

I walked past him to the closet and pulled out a suitcase. My movements were mechanical, robotic. I grab my  clothes, fold them and put them neatly in the bag.

Richard watched me, his face twisted with panic. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

"Evelyn, no. We can work through this."

I stopped and looked at him. Really looked at him. "Work through what, Richard? The affair? The baby? The fact that you have been using me this entire marriage?"

"I never used you."

"You told her you needed to keep me happy until the Henderson project closes. You said my father's connections are the only reason you are in the running." I zipped the suitcase. "That sounds like using me."

Richard grabbed my arm, his fingers tight around my wrist. "That was just... I was frustrated. I did not mean it."

"Let go of me."

"Evelyn, I love you."

"Wow! Really?... Fuck off,  you do not even understand the definition of love ." I pulled my arm free. "And honestly, I am not sure you ever did."

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and called Mirabel. She answered on the second ring.

"Hey, girl! You better not be calling to cancel tonight..."

"Mirabel, I need you to draw up divorce papers."

Silence on the other end. Then, "What happened?"

"Richard had an affair. The woman is pregnant. Can you help me or not?"

"I will have the papers ready by tomorrow morning." Her voice had gone cold and qprofessional. Mirabel was a lawyer, one of the best in the city. "Where are you going tonight?"

"I do not know yet."

"Come to my place. I will order takeout and we can go through everything."

I looked at Richard, who was staring at me like I had just announced I was dying. "Okay. I will be there in twenty minutes."

I hung up and picked up my suitcase.

"Evelyn, please." Richard's voice broke. "Do not leave like this. Let us talk about it."

"We just did."

"I made a mistake! People make mistakes!"

I walked to the bedroom door, then stopped and turned back to face him. " Some mistakes can never be fixed and this mess you just made, is one of them. You know what the worst part is? It is not even the affair. It is not even the baby."

"Then what is it?"

"It is that you made me give up everything I loved, everything I worked for, to support your dreams. And the whole time, you saw me as nothing more than a connection to my father's money." 

I took off the bracelet and threw it at his feet. "Keep it. Give it to Tonia. I am sure she will appreciate it more than I do. Of course she will because she is about to give you a child."

I walked down the stairs and out the front door, leaving behind four years of my life and a marriage built on lies.

The night air was cold against my face. I threw my suitcase in the trunk of my car and sat in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel.

My phone buzzed. A text from Richard: "Please come back. We can fix this."

I deleted it without responding.

Another text came through, this one from an unknown number: "Mrs. Harrison? This is Tonia. I think we should talk."

My chest tightened. How did she get my number?

Before I could respond, another message appeared: "I know you found out about the baby. Richard just called me, very upset but there are things you do not know. Things he has not told you."

I stared at the message, my fingers hovering over the keyboard.

Finally, I typed back: "What things?"

The three dots appeared, showing she was typing. My heart pounded as I waited for her response.

Then the message came through, and everything I thought I knew shattered into even smaller pieces.

"The baby is not his first. We have a son. He just turned two years old.”