Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rejected and Banished; The kids are his.: Kabanata 201 - Kabanata 210

Nicklaus walked into the clinic Nuela had been admitted in. Nuela was sitting up on her bed already dressed in a fitted gown that clung to her body, her lips painted a glossy red as though she had been waiting for him. She didn’t look like someone who had recently suffered any pain. In fact, she looked radiant, deliberately so.When she saw him, her eyes brightened, and she pushed back her hair seductively.“Well, look who finally decided to visit me,” she purred, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. “I thought the great Nicklaus had completely forgotten about me.”Nicklaus didn’t smile. He closed the door behind him, his footsteps echoing with authority as he walked toward her. His expression was unreadable, calm yet rigid, he pulled out the chair beside her bed and sat down.“You look well,” he said flatly. “Already healed?”Nuela leaned closer, her perfume saturating the air between them. “Better than well. I feel alive again… especially now that you’re here, you always had tha

Eva's POV.I sat on the bed with my knees pulled up to my chest, my face buried in my palms. The room felt colder than usual, my chest ached, my heart felt bruised, and no matter how many times I wiped my eyes, the tears just wouldn’t stop coming. I hated that I was crying, hated that I was giving in to this weakness. But it was too much. The hurt that had been clawing at my chest these past few days finally burst, spilling into unstoppable sobs.I thought I knew Nicklaus. I thought I had him figured out... the man who loved me, the man who swore to protect me, the man who looked at me like I was the only woman in the world. But now… now everything felt like a lie.The door creaked open softly, and I immediately turned my face away, wiping at my tears furiously. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I didn’t want him to know how badly I was breaking.“Eva?” His voice was playful, but teasing mostly, the way he always sounded when he was in one of his moods. He leaned against the door

Eva's POV.The cool evening breeze brushed across my cheeks as I lowered myself onto the rough surface of the stone. It was cold and a little freezy, biting into the back of my thighs, but I welcomed it. At least it was solid, unlike my life right now, which seemed to be crumbling around me like sand slipping through trembling fingers.I wrapped my arms around myself and tilted my head toward the sky, my eyes stung from all the crying, yet tears still forced their way out, hot against my skin.Nicklaus, Nuela, Alonzo and his wife, Aragorn, my head was too full, my heart too heavy. Everything was spiraling, and I... I just wanted a moment where the world would stop demanding so much from me.Just when the next set of fresh tears threatened to roll down, that was when I heard footsteps, and I quickly forced my tears back, I really don't wish for anyone to know what is going on with me, especially not anyone familiar.Whoever it was, a stranger or someone familiar, I hoped they walk past

Eva's POV.I had barely slept the previous night, my mind was torn between so many things that it felt like the weight of a thousand stones was pressing down on my chest... Nicklaus’s desperate pleading still echoed in my ears, and my plans with Aragorn.As much as I hated even setting my eyes on him, a small, dangerous part of me knew that I needed him... I needed him for what I was planning.We had arranged to meet the next day, and once I noticed Nicklaus leave the house, I quickly ran out.My heart was pounding, but I forced a calm smile to my lips as I approached the bastard.“There you are,” he said with a slow grin as he stepped towards me too, his eyes gleamed like a predator’s, cold and full of hatred. “I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind, Eva.”I folded my arms across my chest, making sure my expression stayed neutral. “If I said I changed my mind, I wouldn’t be standing here, would I?”He chuckled and came closer. “Good point. But I still can’t trust you... not

Eva's POV. My hands trembled as I stuffed what little I could carry into a small bag, just a few clothes, nothing much... because I didn’t have the heart to take more. Every dress, every scarf, every necklace in this house felt like a memory, a thread tied to Nicklaus. And pulling too many of those threads out would make me fall apart completely.I needed to hold strong and avoid any setbacks at this moment. I slung the bag over my shoulder and wiped my cheeks for the hundredth time. My tears refused to stop flowing, dripping down my chin, dampening the collar of my dress, as though my soul itself was leaking out.I opened the door cautiously, praying he wouldn’t be there anymore, my heart pounded when I peered out... thankfully, the hallway was empty.“Oh, thank goodness,” I muttered under my breath, though my heart ached at the thought of him finally given up knocking. And just like that, I left my matrimonial home behind.Every step I took away from that house broke something in