The Day I Stopped Loving Him

He Gave Her My Baby’s Room

By the time Evelyn got home, the left side of her face was still burning.

The elevator doors opened slowly onto the penthouse floor.

Exactly like always.

Except tonight, something felt different the second she stepped inside.

Voices.

A woman laughing softly.

Evelyn froze near the doorway.

Then she saw a pair of unfamiliar heels beside the entrance.

White. Designer.

Definitely not hers.

Her fingers slowly tightened around her purse.

No.

But deep down—

She already knew.

The living room lights were warm and bright when she walked in.

And there they were.

Caspian sat on the sofa while Selene leaned comfortably against his shoulder wearing one of Evelyn’s cashmere blankets.

Like she belonged there.

Like she was already the lady of the house.

For a second, nobody spoke.

Then Selene quickly sat up with fake panic.

“Evelyn—”

“I can explain—”

Caspian didn’t even look guilty.

That hurt more somehow.

He simply loosened his tie and spoke calmly.

“You’re home early. I thought after that slap, you’d at least have the decency to check whether you broke anything.””

Early.

As if she had interrupted something normal.

Evelyn stared at him.

“This is my house.”

Selene lowered her eyes immediately.

“I told him this was inappropriate…”

Liar.

If she really believed that, she wouldn’t be sitting here wrapped in Evelyn’s blanket.

Caspian finally stood.

“Selene’s staying here temporarily.”

The words were so absurd Evelyn almost thought she imagined them.

“What?”

“She’s not in good condition after the divorce.”

Evelyn laughed softly in disbelief.

“You brought your pregnant mistress into our home?”

Caspian’s expression instantly hardened.

“Watch your tone.”

There it was again.

Not shame.

Not regret.

Control.

Always control.

Evelyn looked at Selene.

“Get out.”

Selene flinched slightly and instinctively held her stomach.

Caspian immediately stepped in front of her.

Protective.

Again.

“She’s not leaving tonight.”

Evelyn’s chest tightened painfully.

The chemotherapy consultation.

The affair.

The slap.

Everything from the past twenty-four hours piled onto her at once.

And somehow this hurt the most.

Because this house used to feel safe.

Back when she was stupid enough to think Caspian loved her.

She looked at him carefully.

“So that’s it?”

“You’re not even hiding it anymore?”

Caspian rubbed his temple impatiently.

“You’re overreacting.”

Evelyn genuinely stared at him in shock.

“Overreacting?”

“She just needs somewhere quiet for a few weeks.”

A few weeks.

Like bringing another woman home while his wife was pregnant was a completely reasonable request.

Selene suddenly spoke softly.

“I can stay in a hotel—”

“No,” Caspian answered immediately.

Too naturally.

The room went silent again.

Then Evelyn noticed something strange.

Several workers were walking upstairs carrying boxes.

She frowned slightly.

“What are they doing?”

Caspian glanced upstairs casually.

“Preparing the nursery.”

Nursery.

Her entire body froze.

Because there was only one nursery in this house.

The room she spent months designing.

The room she secretly decorated for her baby.

The room with the tiny hand-painted stars on the ceiling.

The room where she cried happily the day she found out she was pregnant.

Slowly, Evelyn looked at him.

“…What nursery?”

Caspian didn’t answer immediately.

Which was answer enough.

Evelyn walked upstairs before either of them could stop her.

Fast.

Heartbeat pounding violently.

No no no—

The nursery door was open.

Inside, workers were removing the pale blue curtains Evelyn had picked herself.

The stuffed rabbit her mother bought was tossed carelessly into a box.

The handmade moon lamp she spent hours choosing was gone.

And the name card she hid inside the drawer—

Baby Valecrest.

—lay crumpled on the floor.

Evelyn stopped breathing.

One worker awkwardly looked at her.

“Mr. Valecrest said the room needed redesigning.”

Redesigning.

Because apparently her baby no longer mattered.

She walked slowly into the room.

Her hands trembled violently.

Everything was disappearing.

The stars.

The blankets.

The tiny crib.

All erased.

Behind her, Caspian finally entered the room.

“She needs a quieter environment.”

Evelyn turned around slowly.

“This room was for my child.”

Caspian’s expression barely changed.

“Our child won’t need it for a while.”

Our child.

He said it like an obligation.

Not love.

Evelyn stared at him.

“And hers does?”

Selene appeared quietly behind him, eyes already red.

“Please don’t fight because of me…”

Evelyn suddenly snapped.

“STOP pretending to be innocent!”

Selene instantly looked frightened.

Caspian’s face darkened immediately.

“That’s enough.”

“No,” Evelyn said shakily.

“No, I’m done being quiet.”

Her eyes burned with tears.

“You brought her into my home.”

“You sleep with her.”

“You protect her.”

“And now you’re taking my baby’s room away for HER child?”

Caspian’s patience finally disappeared.

“The baby is her ex-husband’s.”

Evelyn laughed bitterly.

“Do you even hear yourself?”

Silence.

Then she said the one thing she had been holding in since the hospital.

“I saw you.”

Caspian froze slightly.

Evelyn’s voice cracked.

“At the hospital.”

For the first time all night—

Real tension appeared on his face.

Selene’s expression changed too.

So now they knew.

Now they realized she had seen everything.

The touching.

The kissing.

The lies.

Caspian exhaled slowly.

Then immediately switched strategies.

“It’s not what you think.”

Evelyn almost laughed again.

Of course.

The classic line.

He stepped closer carefully.

“Selene was emotional after the divorce.”

“She needed support.”

“And the kissing?”

Silence.

Caspian’s jaw tightened slightly.

“She’s vulnerable right now.”

Evelyn stared at him in disbelief.

That wasn’t even a denial.

Selene lowered her head softly.

“The baby’s father abandoned us…”

Us.

Interesting choice of words.

Evelyn suddenly felt exhausted.

Not angry anymore.

Just done.

Caspian noticed it too.

And for some reason—

That finally unsettled him.

He reached for her wrist gently.

“Don’t make this bigger than it is.”

Evelyn looked down at his hand touching her.

The same hand that slapped her earlier.

Slowly, she pulled away.

“You already made it big enough.”

Then she walked past him.

Back into their bedroom.

No—

His bedroom.

Because suddenly none of this belonged to her anymore.

Behind her, she could hear Selene speaking softly downstairs.

And Caspian comforting her again.

Always her.

Evelyn shut the bedroom door quietly before finally collapsing onto the floor.

Her body shook violently.

Not from crying.

From numbness.

After several minutes, she slowly pulled out her phone.

One unread message.

Kael Arden.

【Say the word and I’ll come get you.】

Evelyn stared at the screen for a very long time.

Then another sound echoed downstairs.

Selene laughing.

Inside her house.

Inside her marriage.

Inside her life.

Something inside Evelyn finally hardened.

She opened her drawer slowly.

Pulled out a blank sheet of paper.

And began writing.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT.

Her hands no longer trembled.

Because this time—

She was really leaving.