Chapter 3

Evelyn's POV

My last shred of hope shattered into a million pieces.

"Ryan, please... just one more chance," I begged, my voice cracking. "I can prove my worth. I’ll do more. You’ll see. You can’t kick me out like this. If I leave, I have nowhere to go. This house... it’s the only place I have left."

I thought of my foster parents and a cold shiver ran down my spine. If I showed up on their doorstep, they wouldn't just turn me away, they would destroy me. My foster father had a temper that left scars, and he had "sold" me into this marriage. Ryan didn’t love but at least he gave me a home. If I went back to my foster parents’ house, I might not survive the night.

But Ryan didn't care. My pleas fell on deaf ears. He just stood there, tall and unmoving, watching me crumble. 

"I don’t care where you go, Evelyn," he said. “That’s not my concern anymore.” His voice was steady, chillingly calm. "I am marrying Daphne. To do that, I need you gone. It’s that simple."

He pushed the pen further toward me. The silence in the room was suffocating. With trembling fingers and a heart that felt like it had stopped beating, I signed the papers. What choice did I have? The ink blurred as my tears hit the page.

"Can I... can I stay as a servant?" I blurted out, grabbing his sleeve in one last, pathetic act of desperation. "I don’t need a salary. I’ll live in the storage cellar in the basement. I’ll clean, I’ll cook, I’ll do anything. Just…don't throw me out into the street."

Ryan pulled his arm away, his expression turning from cold to disgusted.

"Absolutely not," he snapped. "You were my wife, Evelyn. I can’t have my ex-wife working as a maid in my house. Do you have any idea what sort of scandal that would cause? You’re being ridiculous."

He stepped back, adjusting his cufflinks. "I can’t afford a public scandal, Evelyn, so let me be perfectly clear. When it comes to any questions about our marriage, you will keep your mouth shut. If I hear even so much as one single whisper of gossip, there will be consequences.”  

He checked his watch, and furrowed his brows with an impatient expression.  "I’m leaving for a business trip tomorrow morning. You have exactly twenty-four hours to pack. I expect you to be gone by the time I return."

He said nothing else. He just turned and walked away, his footsteps steady and rhythmic, leaving me alone in the middle of the dark living room. I collapsed onto the floor, sobbing until my throat burned.

The next morning, I sadly packed my things.. It didn't take long though. After three years, I realized I owned almost nothing. Most of the clothes in the closet were bought by Ryan to maintain his image, not because they were mine.

However, when I looked over the divorce papers, I saw that Ryan had left me a sum of money. It wasn't a fortune, but it was more than I’d ever had before. A wave of pathetic gratitude washed over me. At least with this, I wouldn't have to go back to my foster parents. I could find a small room somewhere. I could save my baby.

But my relief was short-lived.

The front door slammed open. Looking up, , I saw Daphne. She wasn't alone. Two massive, muscular men in black suits followed her, their faces like stone.

"What are you doing here?" I stammered, clutching my small suitcase.

Daphne walked toward me, a cruel, mocking sneer on her beautiful face. "What’s in the suitcase, Evelyn? Trying to steal a few last minute things? You really are pathetic. "

"I'm not stealing! This is my stuff—"

"You don't deserve a single item from this house," she hissed. She turned to the two men and nodded. "Get her."

Before I could scream, the two men lunged forward. They pinned me against the floor, their heavy hands bruising my arms. I struggled, kicking and crying out for help, but there was no one there to hear me. 

Daphne pulled a small glass vial from her pocket. Her eyes were full of a dark, poisonous hatred.

"You actually thought you could have his child?" she whispered, leaning down so close I could smell her perfume. "You’re nothing but a placeholder. And a placeholder doesn't get to carry the heir."

"No... please!" I realized what was in the vial. It was aborticide. With wide eyes, my blood ran cold. "Daphne, please! I’ll go! I’ll disappear! I’ll never tell him about the baby, I swear! Just let me go!"

"I don't take risks, Evelyn," Daphne said. She gripped my jaw, forcing my mouth open. "Besides, Ryan is the one who wanted this. He told me to make sure you left 'clean.'"

My heart stopped. This was Ryan's request? The man I loved wanted to kill his own child?

I felt like the roof was caving in on me. In my moment of shock, she poured the bitter liquid down my throat. I coughed and choked, but they held me down until every drop was gone.

A few minutes later, a searing, white-hot pain exploded in my abdomen. It felt like a thousand knives were twisting inside me stabbing me from the inside out I curled into a ball, gasping for air, as the world began to turn gray.

"Throw her out," Daphne commanded, wiping her hands with a silk handkerchief. "Dump her in the alley. I don't want her blood ruining my carpets."