The moment I turned my back on them, Don Beckett’s expression instantly darkened. For a split second, true alarm flickered in his eyes. He even took a step in my direction—as if something inside him had panicked.
But Delaney chose that moment to clutch her stomach and cry out in pain.
“Beckett… it hurts…” she whimpered weakly, then forced out a trembling smile soaked in false generosity. “But Evelyn matters more. You should run after her.”
Beckett hesitated—only briefly—before shaking his head with finality.
“No,” he said flatly. “Forget about her. Your condition comes first right now.”
He cast a glance down the empty hallway in the direction I had disappeared and muttered impatiently,
“She’s just throwing a fit. Eight months pregnant and emotional—of course she’s scared of being divorced. I’ll deal with her later.”
Then, without another thought spared for me, he lifted Delaney into his arms and carried her straight into the hospital room—like she was the only woman that mattered.
---
When I returned to the Shaw estate, I stood frozen outside the gates for a long while, staring up at the mansion that was once supposed to be my home. Since Delaney’s return to the city, Don Beckett had barely set foot inside. The warmth that once lived within those walls had long since vanished.
I stepped inside, walked straight to the wall, removed our wedding portrait, and dropped it mercilessly into the trash.
I wanted no trace of myself left behind. Not a single illusion. Not one memory of the woman I used to be.
Every couple item—our shared belongings, photos, gifts, mementos—I gathered them all and shoved them into a large trash bag. I was already making my way down the staircase when the front door abruptly swung open.
Don Beckett entered, carrying Delaney in his arms.
The moment his eyes landed on me standing silently near the door, guilt flashed across his face—gone as quickly as it appeared.
“She felt unwell after what happened earlier,” he said, as if that single sentence justified everything.
“Unwell?” I scoffed sharply. “Then why isn’t she lying in a hospital bed? Why bring her here? Do you take this house for a refuge for your mistress?”
“Mind your tongue, Evelyn,” he snapped coldly. “I’m trying to handle this situation. Whether you like it or not, Delaney will be staying here.”
Delaney lifted her hand and placed it tenderly over her belly, her voice soft but deliberate.
“It’s true. There’s nothing improper between Beckett and me. I’m only here for the baby’s sake.”
Every word was chosen to provoke me.
The fire in my chest surged violently. I locked eyes with Beckett and said with unwavering force,
“This is our home, Don Beckett. I refuse to let her live here.”
For a moment, he hesitated—conflict tightening his features.
Then Delaney reached out, grasped his hand, and pressed it gently onto her stomach.
That single gesture shattered every trace of doubt in him.
When he looked back at me, irritation had fully taken over his face.
“That’s enough,” he barked. “You’re pregnant too—how can you be so heartless?”
“You shoved her,” he continued sharply. “I’m only making sure she and the baby are safe. If you can’t tolerate her presence… then perhaps you are the one who should leave.”
Those words struck harder than any slap.
I stared at him in disbelief as the blood drained from my face. My entire body shook—not from fear, but from the unbearable weight of his decision.
Then I spoke, slow and steady.
“As you wish.”
Tonight would be the final night I ever spent under this roof. After this, I would disappear from his world completely—and Don Beckett Shaw would become nothing more than a closed chapter in my life.
With my decision sealed, I tightened my grip on the trash bag and walked straight out the door.
Behind me, Delaney’s voice floated after us, drenched in feigned concern.
“Don’t argue because of me, Beckett. Look at her—she’s so angry she even threw away your wedding photo.”
Beckett’s voice rumbled with annoyance.
“She’s just acting out. Once she understands I won’t indulge her games, she’ll come crawling back.”
A single tear slipped silently down my cheek.
I stepped into the cold night air and dumped the trash into the bin—along with the last remaining pieces of love I had ever held for that man.
