Chapter Four — There is always a choice

Evelyn POV

“He is my son.”

The words settled between us like shattered glass.

For a moment, I simply stared at Damian. Then I laughed. Not because I found anything amusing. But because if I didn’t laugh, I would fall apart. The sound echoed through the room, empty and broken.

“I knew it,” I whispered. “I think... a part of me knew the moment he called you Daddy.”

Damian didn’t respond, he just stared at me.

I looked at him, searching for guilt, regret, or even shame. His face remained unreadable. I hated that. I hated that after three years of marriage, I still could not tell what he was thinking.

“How?” I finally asked.

He sighed. “Six years ago, I was engaged to Sophie.”

My heart sank. “I know.” Everyone in the business world knew about Damian Sinclair’s broken engagement. The woman had disappeared only weeks before their wedding. People called her a gold digger. Some claimed she had run away with another man. Others believed she had died. No one ever knew the truth.

“I did not know she was pregnant when she left.” His voice was calm, but I noticed the tension in his shoulders. “She came back a few weeks ago.”

“And suddenly you have a son?”

His jaw tightened. “I asked for a DNA test.”

I froze. “You already did a DNA test?”

He nodded once. “The results confirmed Ethan is mine.”

The room fell silent. I lowered my eyes. So while I had been dreaming about our future, Damian had been discovering he already had a child. How long had this been happening? How many meetings? How many phone calls? How many lies?

“How long have you known?” I asked quietly.

He hesitated. “A month.”

A month. Thirty days. Thirty days of smiling politely at breakfast. Thirty days of sleeping beside me. Thirty days of pretending everything was normal while carrying a secret capable of destroying our marriage.

“A month,” I repeated.

“I am sorry.”

Those two words should have comforted me. Instead, they made me laugh again.

“You should have told me.”

“I know.”

“No.” I looked directly into his eyes. “You do not know. If you knew, you would not have walked into our home carrying another woman and another child without saying a single word to me.”

His expression finally cracked. “Evelyn…”

“Do you know what I spent today doing?” He frowned. “I came home smiling.” I could feel tears burning behind my eyes. “I cooked your favorite meal.” His gaze dropped slightly. “I waited for you.” Still he said nothing. “I even…”

My words caught in my throat. No. I could not tell him. Not anymore.

“I even believed today would be different.”

His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

I shook my head. “It does not matter.”

The pregnancy remained my secret. At least for now. If Damian had told me about Ethan before today, perhaps things would have been different. Perhaps I would have trusted him enough to tell him about our baby. Now… I was not sure.

He stepped closer. “I never wanted to hurt you.”

I smiled sadly. “But you did.”

The truth hung heavily between us.

“I had no choice.”

I looked at him in disbelief. “There is always a choice.”

“I could not abandon my son.”

“I am not asking you to.” The words came out louder than I intended. “I am asking why your wife was the last person to know.”

His silence answered me.

Just then, someone knocked on the bedroom door. Neither of us moved. Another knock followed.

“Damian?” Sophie’s voice. She sounded worried. “Ethan is asking for you.”

I watched Damian close his eyes briefly. For one impossible second, I hoped he would stay. That he would tell her to wait. That he would choose this conversation.

Instead, he opened the door. Sophie stood outside looking apologetic. “I’m sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s alright,” Damian replied gently. That same softness I had longed for.

She glanced at me. “I’m really sorry.” She apologized again.

But I could not bring myself to answer.

“Ethan will not sleep without you.” She said, turning her attention back to Damian.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Damian turned back toward me. “We will finish this conversation later.”

I looked at him quietly. “Will we?”

He did not answer. He simply walked away with Sophie. The bedroom door clicked shut and the silence afterward was unbearable.

I slowly sat on the edge of the bed. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to admit something I had been avoiding. Love was not supposed to feel this lonely.

A tear slipped down my cheek. Then another. Soon I could not stop crying. I cried for the woman I had been. The hopeful bride. The patient wife. The fool who believed enough love could change someone’s heart.

Eventually, my stomach growled. The sound reminded me that I was no longer alone. I placed both hands over my belly. “I’m sorry my love.” The words came out as a whisper. “Mommy has to be strong.”

I could not skip meals anymore. Not with a baby depending on me.

After washing my face, I walked downstairs. The dining room lights were already on. Voices drifted toward me. Laughters filled my ears. A child’s laughter.

I stepped inside the dining room and my feet stopped moving.

Damian sat beside Ethan, helping him cut his food into smaller pieces. Sophie smiled as she wiped sauce from the little boy’s cheek. The three of them looked complete. Like a family. A family that didn’t need me.

Damian looked up first. “Evelyn.”

Every head turned toward me. Sophie smiled politely. “Please join us.”

Join us. The words pierced my heart. Us. It felt as though I was an outsider.

I forced a smile. “I’m not hungry.”

That… was a lie. I was starving. But I could not sit there pretending my heart was not breaking.

Damian stood up. “You should eat.”

“I said I’m not hungry.”

“You have not eaten since morning.” He said sounding worried, but his concern came late. Far too late.

“I will eat later.” I replied back.

Without waiting for another response, I turned and walked away. Behind me, I heard Ethan ask an innocent question.

“Daddy, why is she sad?”

My steps faltered for just a second. Then Damian answered quietly. “I don’t know.”

Fresh tears filled my eyes. Neither do I.

All I knew was that somewhere inside me, a tiny heartbeat continued to fight for life. And for the first time since leaving the hospital, I wondered if keeping my pregnancy a secret might be the only thing I still had control over.