The Day I Stopped Loving Him

The Slap That Killed Something Inside Her

Evelyn barely slept.

The entire night felt blurry.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Caspian standing between Selene’s knees in that hospital room.

That look on his face.

Gentle. Protective.

He had never looked at Evelyn that way.

Not even on their wedding day.

The sky outside slowly brightened.

Her apartment remained painfully quiet.

Too cold.

Evelyn sat on the edge of the bed with one hand resting on her stomach.

The baby was still so small.

The doctor had told her stress could be dangerous now.

She almost laughed at that.

Stress?

Her husband had another woman pregnant.

And she was dying.

At this point, stress was the least of her problems.

Her phone buzzed around nine in the morning.

Caspian.

Evelyn stared at the screen for a few seconds before answering.

His voice sounded calm.

“Why didn’t you sleep?”

Like last night never happened.

Like he hadn’t destroyed her entire world in a single sentence.

She swallowed slowly.

“You came home late.”

“I told you I was working.”

Evelyn closed her eyes.

Working.

There was a short silence before Caspian spoke again.

“You sound strange.”

For a second, she almost asked him directly.

Who is Selene?

Is the baby yours?

How long have you been cheating?

But somehow—

She already knew the answers.

And hearing him lie again would only hurt more.

“I’m tired,” she said quietly.

Caspian sighed softly.

“I’ll come home tonight.”

Not because he missed her.

Because he wanted to make sure she hadn’t found out.

Evelyn finally understood that now.

After hanging up, she sat motionless for several minutes.

Then her phone vibrated again.

A message this time.

Unknown number.

【Miss Marrow. I think we should talk.】

Attached was a café address.

Evelyn already knew who it was before opening the second message.

【About Caspian.】

—

The café smelled strongly of coffee and vanilla.

Selene Voss was already sitting by the window when Evelyn arrived.

White dress.

Soft smile.

She looked harmless.

That was probably why men liked her.

Selene stood immediately.

“Thank you for coming.”

Evelyn remained standing.

“What do you want?”

Selene lowered her eyes carefully.

“I didn’t want you finding out like this.”

Evelyn almost laughed.

Finding out?

Like she was discussing bad weather.

Not humiliation.

Selene touched her stomach lightly.

The movement made Evelyn’s chest tighten instantly.

“I know you hate me,” Selene whispered.

“But I really love him.”

There it was.

The classic line.

Evelyn’s voice turned cold.

“So you knowingly slept with a married man.”

Selene’s eyes reddened immediately.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Funny how affairs never are.”

The waitress nearby awkwardly looked away.

Selene bit her lip.

“You don’t understand what Caspian is like when he cares about someone.”

Evelyn froze slightly.

Because that sentence hurt more than it should have.

Selene continued softly,

“He stayed with me during my divorce.”

“He held me when I cried.”

“He took care of me when I got sick.”

Every sentence felt like another knife.

Because Caspian never did those things for Evelyn.

Not once.

Selene suddenly pulled out an ultrasound photo.

“He talks to the baby every night.”

Evelyn felt sick instantly.

She looked away.

But then Selene noticed the medical folder beside Evelyn’s chair.

Part of the document slipped out slightly.

Cancer Treatment Plan.

Selene’s expression changed.

“You’re sick?”

Evelyn immediately grabbed the papers.

“That’s none of your business.”

But Selene had already seen enough.

Stage two lymphoma.

Chemotherapy recommendation.

Pregnancy complications.

For one brief second—

Actual shock crossed Selene’s face.

Then something else appeared.

Relief.

Because a dying wife was convenient.

Very convenient.

Selene lowered her voice carefully.

“Does Caspian know?”

Evelyn stared at her coldly.

“No.”

Selene nodded slowly.

Then she said the cruelest thing possible.

“Maybe… you should tell him soon.”

“Before it’s too late.”

Like she was already planning Evelyn’s funeral.

Evelyn suddenly stood up.

“I’m done here.”

But Selene grabbed her wrist suddenly.

“You should leave him.”

Evelyn’s patience finally snapped.

She yanked her arm away hard.

“Don’t touch me.”

Selene stumbled backward dramatically.

Right on cue.

Because the café door opened at that exact moment.

Caspian walked in.

His eyes immediately landed on Selene.

“Selene!”

She looked up with trembling eyes.

“I just wanted to talk—”

Caspian rushed over instantly.

And then he saw Evelyn standing there.

The tension.

The documents.

Selene’s tears.

His expression darkened immediately.

“What did you do?”

Evelyn stared at him in disbelief.

“What did I do?”

Selene quickly shook her head.

“It’s okay, Caspian—”

But her fake trembling only made him angrier.

“You came here to humiliate her?”

Evelyn laughed bitterly.

“You think she’s the victim?”

Caspian’s voice turned icy.

“She’s pregnant.”

The words hit Evelyn like a slap.

Because so was she.

But apparently that didn’t matter.

Evelyn looked straight at him.

“So am I.”

The entire café went silent.

Caspian froze.

Even Selene looked shocked.

Evelyn hadn’t planned to say it.

But now she was too angry to care.

Caspian stared at her stomach slowly.

“What?”

“I’m pregnant.”

For a second, genuine confusion crossed his face.

Then calculation.

Then irritation.

Not happiness.

Never happiness.

“When were you going to tell me?”

Evelyn almost laughed at the hypocrisy.

“When were you?”

Caspian’s jaw tightened immediately.

Selene suddenly grabbed his sleeve weakly.

“I feel dizzy…”

And instantly—

His attention left Evelyn again.

Just like always.

Caspian held Selene carefully before turning back toward Evelyn with cold eyes.

“Apologize.”

Evelyn thought she misheard him.

“What?”

“You scared her.”

Evelyn stared at him like a stranger.

“You cheated on me.”

“You got another woman pregnant.”

“And you want me to apologize?”

The old Evelyn would’ve stayed quiet.

But something inside her had already cracked last night.

“No.”

Caspian’s face darkened completely.

“Evelyn.”

“No.”

Selene whispered softly,

“Please stop fighting because of me…”

That fake innocent voice finally destroyed Evelyn’s remaining restraint.

She looked directly at Selene.

“You think you won because he picked you?”

“You only got the version of him that was already rotten.”

The next second—

SLAP.

The sound echoed across the café.

Evelyn’s head snapped sideways.

Everything went silent.

Even the waitress froze.

Slowly, Evelyn touched her burning cheek.

Caspian’s hand was still half-raised.

His breathing sounded uneven.

But not regretful.

“Apologize to Selene,” he said coldly.

And in that moment—

Something inside Evelyn finally died.

Not love.

That had died yesterday.

This was worse.