I Was the Secret Wife. My Sister Was the Chosen One. Not Anymore.

Chapter 1

EVELYN POV

It has been five years since Jason and I became husband and wife.

Five years without love. Without affection. Without a single evening that felt like it belonged to just the two of us.

He never spent time with me. Not really.

Every time I asked, he had an excuse already prepared, like he'd been waiting for the question just so he could say no to it.

"Jason, can you take me to the cinema? I want us to watch something together, just the two of us."

I asked with hope.

I always asked with hope. That was my mistake.

"I'm sorry. I can't come today, it's Amelia's night party."

"But I don't need money, Jason. I need you there. It's just one hour."

"I have to be there for her," he said. Like that settled it. Like it always settled it.

"Can't you stop, just once, and be there for me instead?" I whispered.

"Enough of this nonsense." His voice sharpened the way it always did whenever her name came up in the same sentence as mine. "I already told you, spend my money however you like. Do you want me to disappoint your sister? Must you always compete with her?"

He walked away angry.

Like I was the one who had done something wrong.

It was days before I saw him again after that night. All he knew, all he cared about, was my younger sister, Amelia.

They had grown up together. Childhood friends since before I ever came into the picture. I hadn't been raised in this house. I grew up with my grandparents in the countryside, far from all of it, while Amelia stayed close enough to become the person Jason trusted before he ever had to trust me.

Not many people know that Jason and I are married.

He wanted it that way from the start. A quiet marriage, kept away from the public, so that everyone believed he and my younger sister were the perfect couple. Our marriage was legally registered. Only our families knew.

Jason simply didn't want the world to know he was married to me. He only married me because his grandparents favored me over her. To him, I was never a choice. I was a bride forced on him, and he has never once let me forget it.

Today is my parents' wedding anniversary, and I was supposed to bring Jason with me. I called him. Again and again. His number never went through.

I tried once more.

"Hello." His voice, low and unbothered, like I was interrupting something.

"Today is my parents' anniversary. They want us both there."

"You can go. I'll come with Amelia."

He hung up before I could answer. I stared at my phone silently.

Amelia again.

It was always Amelia.

A small, bitter smile touched my lips.

Today made it the ninetieth time he had chosen her over me. I keep count. Not because I want revenge. Only so I know exactly how many times my own husband has looked at me and decided I wasn't worth staying for.

I walked to the antique store to collect the gift I'd already ordered for my parents, a piece they'd been wanting for months. I had it all pictured already. Their faces tonight. The dinner. One good thing I had gotten right.

I was reaching for the door when I heard a voice I would know anywhere, even in a crowd of a thousand.

"This is Amelia. My soon to be wife. We'll be announcing our engagement soon."

My steps froze.

Slowly, I turned my head.

Standing not far away was my husband.

Jason.

His hand rested against my sister's waist in a gesture far too intimate for the men and officials filing past them toward the restaurant.

My mind went blank.

Future wife?

Engagement?

Did he just say that? Out loud. In front of all these people. Like it was simply true.

Then what was I? A secret? A replacement? A plaything he kept in a drawer until he no longer needed the pretense?

"Your future wife is truly beautiful. You two are a perfect match," one of the men said, laughing.

"Your children will definitely be beautiful," another added.

My heart tightened at their words. They all looked at Amelia as if she had always been his wife. As if I had never existed at all.

"Thank you, everyone. Let's go inside," Amelia said, glowing.

I stood there for a moment. Unable to move. The gift bag was suddenly heavier in my hand than it had been a second ago.

Then I turned around and walked away. It wasn't that I still loved Jason the way I used to. At least, that was what I wanted to believe.

But I expected loyalty. I expected the bare minimum of respect a wife is owed, even in a marriage built on nothing but paper and family obligation.

Apparently even that was too much to ask. Does he wish I would simply disappear?

My vision started to blur. No. Not now.

I found a bench and sat before my legs could decide for me.

My sister and my husband. The two people I should have trusted most in this world. Had betrayed me.

The people I should have been able to trust were the ones who hurt me the most.

And now I couldn't stop the thought from circling, quiet and cold, underneath everything else.

Did Jason plan to divorce me?

Even hidden from the public, I was still legally his wife. How would he explain that to the officials who had just called Amelia his future wife? How would he choose between the wife he kept secret and the woman he proudly showed to the world?

For five years, I had been living as Mrs. Blackwood.

But today, sitting on a bench with chocolate dissolved on my tongue and my whole life rearranging itself without my permission.

I finally understood something I should have known from the start. I had never truly been his wife at all.

Chapter 2

EVELYN POV

I stepped out of the car as soon as it pulled into my parents' compound.

The moment I reached the front door, I heard laughter coming from inside. I recognized the voices immediately.

Amelia.

My mother.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

After everything I had witnessed today, I felt nothing but emptiness.

So she was already here. I didn't need anyone to tell me Jason would be right beside her. I pushed the door open and walked inside.

Just as I expected, everyone was gathered in the living room. Amelia's head rested comfortably on Jason's shoulder while he massaged it slowly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

For a brief second, my chest tightened.

Then I reminded myself of what I had seen outside the restaurant. This shouldn't surprise me anymore.

"Good evening, everyone," I greeted.

Only my parents gave me a brief nod.

"Sister, don't think too much about this," Amelia said in a panic, quickly moving away from Jason. "Jason was only helping massage my shoulder. It hurt."

"Yes. She's right," Jason added calmly. "Don't make a fuss over something this small. You won't, will you?"

His tone wasn't a question. It was a warning. I looked at both of them, then gave a small smile.

"Why would I make a fuss? I'm already used to it. This isn't the first time, is it? Please. Continue."

Neither of them spoke again. I walked past them like nothing had happened.

"Happy anniversary, Mom, Dad." I held out the gift with both hands. "This is for you."

"Thank you." My mother barely glanced at it before waving a maid over. "Take it."

Not even a word of appreciation.

"Mom, won't you at least see what Sister bought you?" Amelia asked sweetly as I sat down on the sofa.

"What could she possibly buy that would compare to what you and Jason gave me? The jewelry you two got me was personally designed by Eve, the famous and hidden designer herself."

"It's probably not as expensive," Amelia said softly, pretending to defend me. "But we should still look at it. My sister must have put a lot of thought into it."

She always knew how to sound kind while pushing everyone to humiliate me.

"Fine," my mother said. "Bring it, since Amelia is so curious."

Since I'd arrived, no one had asked how I was doing. Not even my own husband. He looked at me like I was a stranger he'd agreed to tolerate for the evening.

I should have been used to it by now. The maid opened the gift box.

My father's eyes widened.

"Wait. Isn't this the antique I've been searching for?"

A faint smile touched my lips. At least someone recognized it. My father carefully lifted the antique, turning it over in his hands.

"This... this looks authentic," he murmured. "The craftsmanship is exactly the same."

His eyes moved to me for the first time that evening.

"Evelyn... where did you get this?" Before I could answer

"How is that possible?" Amelia asked, feigning surprise. "Even Jason and I couldn't get our hands on it.

"You're overthinking it, James" my mother

Said. "If Jason couldn't get it, how could she?" She didn't even bother looking closely before waving her hand dismissively. "It's obviously fake.

Amelia turned to me, innocent. "Sister, this can't possibly be real. It must be a counterfeit. Maybe the seller deceived her. My sister has always trusted people too easily.

"Believe whatever you want."

The smile vanished from my mother's face.

"What kind of disrespect is this?" she snapped. "Even if we didn't give birth to you, we still raised you. How could you bring us a fake antique on such an important day?"

"If you couldn't afford a proper gift, you should have bought something within your means instead of embarrassing this family with a counterfeit."

I only smiled.

If they knew how many connections I'd had to call in just to get my hands on something real, they'd choke on the word counterfeit. But I was too tired to explain. Too tired to defend myself.

Not after everything I'd already heard today.

Little by little.

My feelings for this family were disappearing.

Jason, who had stayed silent until now, finally spoke, disdain thick in his voice. "Didn't I give you enough money? Couldn't you buy a decent gift? Do you always have to embarrass me?"

"If you needed more, you should have told me instead of trying to fool everyone.

I looked at him quietly. Not once had he asked if the gift was genuine. He simply assumed the worst of me. He always did.

"It's okay," Amelia said gently, walking over to hold his arm. "Everyone, please forgive Sister. I'm sure she didn't mean it. She won't do it again."

I smiled faintly.

There had never been a place for me in this family. Not since my grandparents, my mother's parents, the ones who raised me, had passed. My adoptive parents had only ever wanted a child of their own. Once Amelia was born, I slowly became someone they merely tolerated, then sent away to grow up with my grandparents in the countryside while Amelia stayed close, surrounded by everything I never had.

I had always understood, even as a child, that I was only ever meant to be temporary.

"We have something important to discuss with you, Evelyn," my mother said, breaking the silence.

"Yes," Jason added. "It's something that can't be delayed any longer."

I looked at the three of them. So. This was it. Were they finally going to tell me about the engagement that is coming soon? Or had Jason already decided to divorce me?

Either way, I wanted to hear what excuse they'd prepared after everything I'd already witnessed today.

My mother exchanged a glance with Jason. Neither of them spoke. It was Amelia who finally stepped forward.

Slowly, she knelt before me.

Tears filled her eyes.

"Sister. Please." Her voice broke.

The room fell silent.

Everyone stared at her, confused.

She grabbed my hand, tight.

"I know I've wronged you. I know you hate me."

I frowned.

What was she doing?

"But please." Her voice cracked harder. "Please let my baby live."

My heart skipped.

Baby?

She lowered her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm pregnant."

She looked up, straight into my eyes.

"I'm pregnant with Jason's child."

The room went deathly silent.

My fingers tightened around the armrest.

So it was true.

The congratulations. The comments outside the restaurant. None of it had been a misunderstanding.

Jason had gotten my sister pregnant. I raised my eyes to him slowly. He didn't deny it. Not even once. Instead, he stood beside Amelia like he was protecting her.

Like she was the woman who belonged at his side.

While I.

His legal wife.

Had become nothing more than an unwanted outsider.

"Sister... Please divorce Jason. I don't want my child to be born without a father.

CHAPTER 3

EVELYN POV

I was too shocked to react.

My sister knelt before me, shameless, asking me to divorce my own husband so her unborn child could have a legitimate name.

Did I ask her to sleep with my husband? Did I ask her to betray me? How exactly was any of this my responsibility? Why was I the one paying the price for their mistake?

Why was I the one expected to sign the divorce papers because my younger sister and my husband chose to betray me. So now, if I refused to divorce Jason, I would become the villain.

A laugh escaped my lips.

Then another. Soon I was laughing so hard my stomach ached, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes.

The sound was strange, even to me. It was heartbroken.

"How could you be so shameless, Amelia?" I asked, disgust thick in my voice.

"How dare you speak to her like that." Jason glared at me. "Watch your tone."

"No, Jason." Amelia's voice trembled. "She has every right. I'm the one who betrayed her."

Seeing her cry only softened him further. He helped her to her feet, his arm wrapping around her like she was something fragile.

"How is this your fault?" he asked gently. "We were both drunk that night. I'm the one at fault. It was just a mistake."

I stared at them.

"Wow." A bitter laugh slipped out. "What a beautiful mistake. My husband slept with my sister, and now she's carrying his child."

The room went quiet.

"Evelyn. Enough," Jason snapped.

"No." I shook my head slowly. "You call this a mistake? The two people I should have trusted the most betrayed me, and now you're standing here asking me to bless it?"

My voice was calm. It was too calm. Maybe because somewhere underneath, my heart had already shattered past the point of reacting properly.

My mother slammed her teacup onto the table.

"That's enough. It isn't as if you've given Jason a child in five years of marriage."

"So?"

"So you should be happy your sister can do what you couldn't," she said, without a trace of guilt. "Do you want Jason to remain childless forever?"

Before I could recover, she kept going.

"And besides, Amelia isn't taking anything that was ever really yours. You're the one who took what belonged to her. She and Jason have always loved each other."

For a second, I couldn't breathe.

So this was what they truly believed. That I was the thief. That I had stolen him from her, though I had never once asked to marry Jason. It was his own grandfather who'd insisted I become his granddaughter-in-law, over Amelia, and my parents had agreed only because the arrangement was tied to the partnership between our families. Not once had anyone asked what I wanted.

And still, somehow, I had become the villain in everyone's story.

Amelia stepped forward again, tears fresh on her cheeks.

"Sister. Please. I can't let my baby be born without a father." She reached for my hand. I pulled it away. "I don't want my child to be illegitimate."

"So," I said quietly, looking between them, "in your eyes, I'm the selfish one?"

"No! That's not what I mean." She wiped her tears. "I don't want you to leave Jason either. You can divorce him on paper, but still stay by his side. He'll marry me publicly, and you can stay with him privately. We can all still live together."

She smiled through her tears, like she was offering me a kindness.

"I know you love him. I know you can't bear to leave him. So please, sister. I'll treat you well forever."

I stared at her. Did she hear herself?

"So you think you're doing me a favor," I said.

"Yes," she answered, immediate, certain.

Jason spoke before she could add anything else.

"If she hadn't begged me to let you stay, I wouldn't have even considered it." His eyes were cold. "I never loved you. I married you because my grandfather demanded it. You were nothing but an obligation."

Five years. Even knowing he'd never loved me, I hadn't expected him to say it so plainly. So cruelly. As if five years of my life deserved nothing more than that one sentence.

I hadn't wanted this marriage either. But somehow I was the only one being punished for it.

"So now," I said, "I'm supposed to gracefully step aside and hand my husband to my sister."

"Why should I be the one paying the price for their mistake?

"Yes. It's only right." He glanced at Amelia, then back at me. "You can't give me children. She will." His mouth curved, almost generous. "You don't have to leave, though. You can stay. Become my mistress. Help raise the child."

The room went silent.

For a moment I wondered if I'd heard him right.

His mistress. Me. His legal wife.

"Yes, sister," Amelia said, eager. "The baby will call you mother too. You won't lose Jason. You'll still be part of this family." She reached for my hand again.

I withdrew it before she could touch me.

My mother sighed, impatient. "They've already given you a way out. Why can't you be grateful, for once? Must you always cause trouble? Amelia's belly will start showing soon."

My father spoke for the first time that night, his voice quieter than my mother's. "You've always been a sensible child. Just agree. Nothing will really change."

Nothing would change. Everything had already changed, the moment Jason chose my sister over me, the moment my own family decided I was the one who had to sacrifice.

I looked at each of their faces. One by one.

Not a single person was standing on my side.

Not one.

I rose to my feet.

"I do not agree."

Amelia's smile froze. Jason's expression darkened.

"What did you say?"

"I said I won't divorce you." I met his eyes without flinching. "Have you informed your grandparents about this?"

His face turned ugly at the mention of them. "That's none of your business."

"It is. I'm still your legal wife." I folded my arms. "Why should I be the one to leave? I'm Mrs. Blackwood. If anyone should be ashamed, it's Amelia. She knowingly slept with a married man. If anyone should become the mistress, it's her. She made her choice. She should bear the consequences."

"How dare you." Jason's voice cracked with fury. "I'm divorcing you whether you agree or not. Amelia has thought of you this whole time, and this is how you repay her. You're heartless. Ruthless."

Amelia burst into louder sobbing and dropped to her knees, both arms wrapping around my leg.

"Sister. Please. Don't use his grandparents to threaten him. I don't want my baby called a bastard."

"Let go," I said.

She shook her head. "No. I'll do anything. Just let Jason marry me."

My patience broke. "I said let go."

I tried to pull my leg free. She tightened her grip instead.

"I won't. I am not divorcing him." My voice rang through the silent room. "There is nothing any of you can do. If your child is born illegitimate, that's the consequence of sleeping with another woman's husband."

The words had barely left my mouth when my father's hand cracked across my face.

My head snapped to the side.

For a second, everything went silent. I lifted my hand slowly to my burning cheek.

"You ungrateful girl," he shouted, his hand still trembling. "After everything this family has done for you, this is how you repay us?"

My eyes stung. Not from the slap.

From finally understanding I had no family left at all.

I looked down at Amelia, still clinging to my leg.

"Let go."

I tried once more to pull free.

She lost her balance.

Her body fell backward, hard, both hands flying to her stomach as her face drained of color.

Jason's eyes went wide. "Amelia!"

She looked up at me through her tears, and something in her expression shifted, fear, then something colder, something deliberate.

"Sister." Her voice broke. "Why did you push me?"

"My child"

"My child.

CHAPTER 4

EVELYN POV

"My child..." Amelia cried, both hands clutching her stomach as her face twisted in pain.

Jason was the first to rush to her. My parents followed immediately, panic written across their faces.

I stood rooted to the spot. I hadn't touched her. I was certain of it.

Then the thought came, cold and familiar: was this another one of her schemes? It wasn't the first time Amelia had framed me. Ever since we were children, whenever something went wrong, somehow I was always the one blamed for it. And every time, my parents believed her. Jason believed her. It didn't matter what I said, what evidence I brought, they only accused me of forging it.

After years of trying to defend myself, I had eventually stopped. If they wanted me to be the villain, nothing I said would ever change their minds.

"I didn't do anything to her," I said, loud enough to fill the room. "You all saw what happened."

Jason didn't even look at me. His attention never left her.

"Amelia, look at me." He helped her sit up, his voice tight with fear. "Are you alright?"

She shook her head weakly, tears streaming down her face.

"It hurts, Jason... it hurts so much." She pressed both hands harder against her stomach. "I think something's wrong with our baby."

My mother's face was drained of color. "Blood." Her voice cracked. "There's blood!"

The room erupted.

My mother rushed to Amelia's side while Jason gathered her carefully into his arms.

"How could you be so vicious?" my mother screamed at me. "If anything happens to your sister or that child, I swear I'll never forgive you!"

"I told you I didn't push her. I didn't touch her."

"Enough!" my father roared, his face full of disappointment rather than concern. "We saw it with our own eyes. You pushed her, and you're still lying."

I looked from face to face. None of them believed me. Not for a second.

"So," I said quietly, "you all think I'm heartless enough to intentionally harm a pregnant woman?"

"Yes." My mother's answer came instantly. Certain. "You've always been jealous of Amelia. Nothing surprises me anymore."

A bitter smile touched my lips.

Of course. It was always the same. No matter what happened, I was wrong and Amelia was right. I had long stopped expecting fairness from any of them.

What I felt now wasn't sadness. It was emptiness.

"I don't know why none of you can"

I never finished.

The slap came fast, hard enough that my knees nearly buckled beneath me. My head snapped to one side, and for a moment there was only ringing in my ears.

I raised a trembling hand to my cheek. Already burning.

I looked up. Jason stood over me, his eyes filled with fury.

He had slapped me.

My husband. The man I had spent five years loving in silence, supporting without asking for anything in return, had just raised his hand against me, for another woman. The pain on my cheek was nothing next to the pain of understanding it.

"How could you do this?" Jason's voice shook with hatred. "You couldn't give me a child, and now you want to take that from the one woman who can?"

"You're despicable," he said. "Heartless. Completely unworthy of ever being called a mother."

Then the words that would stay with me long after the bruise faded.

"Maybe it's your black heart that's kept you barren."

My fingers trembled. For five years I had blamed myself for not conceiving. I had cried through countless nights alone, wondering what was wrong with me. And now the one man who should have comforted me was using that wound as a weapon.

"I didn't push her." My voice was quiet, steady. Not because I thought he would believe me, but because I needed him to hear it anyway. "I would never harm a child."

Jason only looked at me with disgust.

His slap had already told me everything about what I was worth to him.

"I know Sister didn't mean it," Amelia said weakly, leaning into Jason's chest. "I know she hates me... but I never thought she'd hurt my baby."

Then, sharply: "Ah it hurts. My stomach. We have to go to the hospital, please."

Jason pulled her closer instantly. "Nothing will happen to you," he murmured, gentle now, wiping her tears. "I won't let anything happen to either of you."

Then he turned to me, and every trace of that gentleness vanished.

"If anything happens to Amelia," he said, low and cold, "or to my child, I'll make you regret the day you were born."

"Listen to me. This is Amelia's plan. She's framing me. I didn't push her."

It was the last time I tried to explain myself.

"Even now you're still trying to frame her?" His voice was thick with disgust. "I hate you, Evelyn. I regret the day I married you."

Before I could react, he shoved me with all his strength.

Everything happened too fast. My body stumbled back, lost its balance

Crash.

My stomach hit the glass coffee table. It shattered beneath me, and a shard tore into my lower abdomen. For a second, I couldn't even scream, the pain too large for sound. Then it came, hot and sharp, spreading fast, blood already soaking warm through my dress and pooling beneath me on the broken glass.

"Jason." My vision blurred at the edges. "I'm in pain."

For one second, I hoped he would look at me. That he would see the blood. That he would remember, even now, that I was still his wife.

Instead he only tightened his hold on Amelia.

"Driver! Bring the car around, now!"

The servants rushed to obey.

He lifted Amelia into his arms like she was the only precious thing left in that house. Before he walked out, he turned back once, and his voice carried through the silence like something final.

"No one is to help her. She deserves whatever happens to her."

He didn't look at me again. My parents followed him out without a single glance back.

The front door slammed shut.

Silence swallowed the room. Only my breathing remained, ragged, uneven, and the sound of my own blood spreading quietly across the floor.

"It hurts," I whispered to no one. "So much."

None of the servants moved. Jason's order was enough to freeze every one of them where they stood.

Was my life truly so meaningless to them? Was I worth so little that they could leave me here to die on the floor of the house I had once believed could be my home?

I pressed a trembling hand to the ground and pulled myself forward. Every inch sent a fresh wave of fire through my stomach. Glass scraped against my palms, my knees, leaving a thin red trail behind me across the tile. Still, I crawled, through the hallway, through the door, out into the cold night air waiting beyond the gate.

The street outside hit my skin like ice. My whole body throbbed in time with my heartbeat, the wound in my stomach one long unbroken line of fire, and somewhere at the edge of my mind, distant and strangely calm, I understood I might not survive this.

If I did. If I somehow lived through this night.

Neither Jason nor the Ashwood name, the surname I had shared with Amelia since birth, the family that had never once chosen me, would ever mean anything to me again.

That was the last clear thought I had before the dark pulled me under.

CHAPTER 5

EVELYN POV

"Beep..."

"Beep..."

The sound echoed through the silence again and again.

Pain.

That was the first thing I felt. A dull, unbearable ache spread through my entire body, especially my abdomen.

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt impossibly heavy. Slowly, I forced them open.

Everything was blurry at first. The white ceiling. The bright lights. The unfamiliar room. Gradually, my vision cleared.

A hospital.

I was in a hospital.

The memories of last night came crashing back one after another.

Amelia's scream. Jason's slap. His shove. The sharp pain when my body crashed into the glass table. The blood.

I looked around the room.

It was empty. Not a single familiar face. No Jason. No mother. No father. No Amelia.

Of course. By now they were probably surrounding Amelia's bed, comforting her, worrying over her.

As for me. I was completely alone.

The door opened with a soft creak. A nurse stepped inside carrying a tray.

"Oh, you're awake, Miss Ashwood," she said, smiling gently.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I said, though another wave of pain shot through my stomach the moment I spoke.

The nurse caught the change in my expression. "The pain is normal. It'll get better gradually."

I nodded, then asked the question that had been sitting in my chest since I opened my eyes.

"My husband. Where is he? Wasn't he the one who brought me here?"

The nurse looked faintly surprised. "No. Someone called an ambulance for you. We're not sure who, perhaps one of the maids from your house."

I looked down.

So Jason hadn't even brought me here.

For a moment I almost laughed. Even after everything, some foolish part of me had still expected him to be the one who saved me.

The nurse hesitated, then said, "Your family hasn't come to see you yet. I thought they might still be with another patient." She paused, studying my face. "Your sister was also admitted last night."

My fingers tightened around the blanket.

So Amelia was here too.

"If you saw how attentive Mr. Blackwood is with his wife," the nurse added, brightening, entirely unaware, "you'd envy her. Every girl's dream husband, honestly."

I smiled. Small. Empty.

While I had been dying on my own floor, my husband was busy taking care of my sister in another.

The nurse seemed to catch herself and offered a quick smile instead. "You should rest. The doctor will be in shortly."

I nodded, and she left. Silence filled the room again.

I stared at the ceiling.

Not one of them had come to check if I was even alive. Not even my own husband.

Perhaps, to them, my life had never mattered at all.

A few minutes later, the door opened again. A middle-aged doctor stepped in, the same nurse trailing behind him.

"Good morning, Miss Ashwood," he said kindly, stopping beside the bed. "How are you feeling now?"

"My body still hurts," I answered.

"That's expected. You suffered a severe impact to your abdomen and lost a considerable amount of blood." He glanced at the chart in his hand, then back at me, his expression shifting. "There's something we need to tell you."

A strange unease settled in my chest.

"What is it?"

He was quiet a moment. Then he sighed.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

I frowned. "My loss?"

"I'm afraid we couldn't save your baby. You were approximately six weeks pregnant. We did everything we could after you were brought in, but the injury to your abdomen was too severe. We're truly sorry."

The room went silent. Too silent. His lips kept moving, but I couldn't hear another word.

Six weeks.

Pregnant.

Baby.

"No," I whispered. "That's impossible."

I lifted a trembling hand and placed it over my stomach.

Empty.

Our baby. Jason's and mine. Had been there this whole time.

Fresh tears blurred my vision, and his words from the night before came rushing back, stabbing into me all over again.

You can't even give me a child.

Maybe your black heart made you barren.

A broken laugh escaped me. Barren. I hadn't been barren. I had been carrying his child. Our child. And while it fought to stay alive, its father had been carrying another woman out the door.

If he had taken me to the hospital himself. If he hadn't left me bleeding on that floor. Would our baby still be alive?

The thought broke whatever strength I had left. Tears slid down freely now, and I didn't try to stop them.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, stroking my stomach gently. "I'm so sorry, my baby. Mommy couldn't protect you. I let people who never loved us hurt you. I'm sorry."

The doctor stood quietly, letting me grieve before he spoke again.

"There was nothing more we could have done. You were brought in too late." He paused. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, Miss Ashwood. You're still young. Please don't lose hope."

Hope.

The hope I had held onto for five years had died long before my baby did.

Still, I nodded politely. "Thank you, doctor."

He gave me one last sympathetic look before leaving with the nurse. The door clicked shut, and silence filled the room again.

I curled slowly onto my side, one hand resting over my now-empty stomach.

"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered. "I never even knew you were there. I didn't get the chance to protect you. I never even got to hear your heartbeat."

My shoulders shook as I cried.

No mother should have to say goodbye to her child before she even knew they existed.

If Jason had taken me to the hospital himself. If he had cared enough to look back, even once. If he had chosen me, just this one time. Maybe our baby would still be alive.

But he hadn't.

He chose Amelia. Just as he always did.

And our child paid the price for it.

I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand.

No. I had cried enough.

For five years I had begged for love. For five years I had endured humiliation, loneliness, and disappointment, hoping that one day Jason would finally see me. I had been wrong. He never would.

The Evelyn who spent five years loving Jason Blackwood died together with her child in this hospital bed.

From this day on, Jason Blackwood meant nothing to me. Neither did the Ashwood family.

I was done chasing people who had never once chosen me.

My biological parents had searched for me for years. When they finally found me, I had refused to leave, still believing, foolishly, that this family would one day accept me.

I had mistaken tolerance for love.

I had mistaken obligation for family.

No more.

I would go to the people who had always wanted me.

I would reclaim the life that should have been mine from the beginning.

And this time, I would never look back.