Chapter 18
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Adrian took a deep breath, trying to calm the rage building in his chest. After a moment, his eyes turned cold.
He spoke up, “Claire’s pregnant. She almost lost the baby because of you. I brought her back home to rest. You made the mess, now clean it up. Get back here and take care of her.”
Evelyn almost laughed, thinking, ‘I knew he didn’t call out of guilt or regret. He has an agenda.’
“So let me get this straight,” she said, her voice laced with disbelief. “You actually expect me to go back and care for your mistress. Adrian, do you really think that little of me?”
She laughed wildly, the kind that came from the gut and left tears in her eyes.
“Look, I’m giving you one hour. If I don’t see you, I’ll cut off all your cards. Don’t blame me for not leaving you a way out,” Adrian snapped.
Then he hung up without missing a beat.
Evelyn calmly blocked him on WhatsApp and tossed her phone aside. She sank into the couch, cold laughter still bubbling from her lips.
She thought bitterly, ‘Adrian, you’ve always seen yourself as some big boss, thinking threats and orders get people moving. But I’m not your employee.
‘Yeah, you paid for my expenses after we got married. But that’s how it’s supposed to work, right? You earn money, and I manage the household. You act like you did me a favor.’
Adrian really thought cutting off money would break her. He didn’t know her at all. Just because she’d been a housewife for a few years didn’t mean she couldn’t survive on her own.
After a short rest, Evelyn got up and made herself dinner. Later that night, she watched some of her old wildlife footage.
The roaring and crashing animals and the heat of the sun in the grasslands reminded her of why she started in the first place. The fire inside her lit up again.
Looking back now, Evelyn found out that marriage was a chain. Adrian and Noah kept her tied down, kept her from chasing what she loved.
Now that she had given up everything, she was free and could finally breathe again.
Just then, her phone rang, and it was an unknown number.
Evelyn hesitated, thinking maybe it was work–related, and picked it up.
Adrian’s voice shouted through, urgent and loud. “You seriously need to come back now. Noah’s having trouble breathing. He’s broken out in a rash all over. What the hell is going on?”
His voice was frantic, boiling over with barely contained panic.
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Chapter 18
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For the first time, Evelyn had slipped out of his grip, and he couldn’t handle it. In his mind, she was still supposed to crawl back. He thought giving her an opening would be enough.
“Don’t you know your son is allergic to half the things on this planet?” Evelyn shot back, sharp and clear.
She scoffed in her mind, ‘He thought I spent all those years learning to cook just for fun? Noah has a dozen food triggers. I cooked every meal by hand because I didn’t trust nannies could remember all those.
“Noah is so sick, and you’re still talking back? What’s wrong with you? Come home, now,” Adrian growled.
For the first time, he felt what chaos really meant. Life without Evelyn was a disaster.
“I’m so sorry,” Clarissa suddenly piped in, her voice soft and shaky. “I didn’t know he’d react. It’s all my fault.”
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Evelyn didn’t have to see Clarissa to know she was probably crying her heart out. But Evelyn had her number. Clarissa was already in that house. The last thing she wanted was for Adrian’s real wife to come back and ruin her show.
“Noah likes calling her Mom, doesn’t he? Then let his mom handle it. I’ve got things to do,” Evelyn said coldly.
She hung up without waiting for a reply and blocked the number for good.
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
