Back home, I shoved this morning’s pregnancy test results into the farthest corner of the closet.
I’d planned to surprise Evan.
Turns out, he beat me to it–with a surprise of his own.
How fitting.
At the very end of our marriage, we finally synced up for once.
Just as I shut the closet door, I heard the front door open downstairs.
Claire walked in arm–in–arm with Evan, completely at ease, like she was the lady of the house.
Evan spotted me and raised an eyebrow before casually saying, “Claire doesn’t have a place to stay now that she’s back, so she’ll be living with us for a few days.”
“Okay.”
I nodded, not bothering to ask about the dozens of properties under his name where she could’ve stayed.
Asking would’ve just made me look pathetic.
So instead, I said softly,
“Should I move out then? I don’t want to be a bother.“/
Evan frowned, clearly unhappy with my reaction.
A flicker of irritation darkened his eyes.
“No need. Just give up the master bedroom.”
“Okay.”
I didn’t hesitate. I turned around and started packing my things for the guest room.
As we passed each other in the hallway, Claire raised her voice deliberately.
“Evan, I’m a clean freak. Make sure the maid disinfects everything–I can’t handle dirt.”
I stopped walking.
I glanced at Evan, knowing full well he caught the meaning behind her words.
He definitely heard it. He just didn’t care.
11:50
I Canceled Our Wedding for My CEO Childhood Crush. Zero Regrets!
Chapter z
“It’s late,” he said.
“I’ll take you to a hotel tonight. Once everything’s cleaned, you can come back.”
Claire giggled, throwing herself into his arms with a little victorious glance my way.
“Okay–but you have to stay with me. I’ll be scared alone.”
Evan didn’t even pause. He left with her without looking back.
And I was left standing there, clutching my hastily packed bags, looking like the world’s biggest joke.
When I looked down, I could still see the faint impression the wedding ring had left on my finger.
A sad little reminder of three years spent pretending.
By the time I finished reviewing the divorce paperwork, it was past eleven and pouring outside.
Claire had just posted on social media.
A picture of her and Evan, snuggled up on a hotel bed.
Her makeup was flawless, her smile sugary sweet.
Caption: Together, heartbeats in sync.
That kind of embrace–I’d known it too.
Just six months ago, right after my mom’s funeral.
Three years ago, I married Evan to pay for my mom’s medical bills.
Sold every last bit of my dignity to make it happen.
But no amount of money could buy her health back.
After the funeral, Crestwood City had been drenched in rain,
I’d hidden in a dark room, crying into my mother’s clothes.
And Evan–he’d come in and pulled me onto the bed, holding me through the night.
When my mom left me.
When I was completely, utterly alone in this world.
It was Evan who gave me that one and only embrace.
I really thought, just for a second, that maybe I had a home again.
Really–just for a second.
Chapter 2
Just barely.
Swallowing back the tears, I liked Claire’s post.
Then set my phone down and closed my eyes to sleep.
Ten minutes later, the screen lit up with a pinned message: “Still awake?”
