Chapter 5: The breaking point

(Evelyn pov)

The divorce paper shook in my hands, the ink blurring as my vision swam. My chest constricted, and my breathing came in brief, agonizing breaths. The atmosphere in the room was stifling, weighing on me like an invisible pressure, yet I would not allow them to witness me break down

Not here.

Not in front of them.

Sebastian stood across from me, his expression unreadable, making it seem as if this moment, the end of everything we created, was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Vanessa, on the other hand, crossed her arms, her gaze sharp and expectant, like she was waiting for me to surrender, to sign without a fight.

But, I would not.

Not without answers.

I swallowed hard, forcing the tremor out of my voice. "How long?"

Sebastian’s eyebrow knitted together slightly, but he didn’t ask for clarification. He knew exactly what I meant.

Vanessa released a dramatic sigh, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Eve, does it actually make any difference?"

A slow, bitter laugh escaped me, though there was no humor in it. My grip on the papers tightened, the edges crumpling beneath my fingers. "How long, Vanessa?"

She hesitated.

Sebastian didn’t.

"Years," he said simply.

The word cut through me like a blade.

I sensed my heartbeat thundering in my ears, my whole body becoming tense. "Years?" I repeated, my voice hardly louder than a whisper.

Vanessa offered a slight shrug, as if she were talking about the weather. "Actually, it has been since college."

The ground slanted under me.

"What did you say?" The word hardly escaped my lips before she went on.

"Sebastian and I have been together since we were in college." "He was the person I frequently mentioned." Her lips twisted into a form that resembled amusement. "But then I left,

and you…" she pointed at me, her eyes glinting "

you seduced him. "You took advantage of Grandpa to obtain your desires, and you married him while I was away."

The air rushed out of my lungs.

The breath whooshed out of my lungs.

It seemed as though my heart had been ripped out my chest and crushed.

"No," I murmured, shaking my head, unable to process it.

My mind reeled, searching for memories, for signs, for something, anything, that would have told me this was happening right under my nose.

Five years.

For five years, they had been lying to me, watching me claw, beg, and fight for a marriage that had never even been real.

Five years of devotion, of trying to fix something that was never meant to be whole.

My nails dug into my palms, sharp enough to break skin, but the pain was nothing compared to the fire burning inside me. "You... you both let me make a fool of myself for years?" My voice wavered, but the fury behind it was undeniable.

Vanessa rolled her eyes, the smug tilt of her lips making my blood boil.

"Oh, come on, Evelyn. You should’ve known."

Sebastian stood beside her, silent. Not a flicker of guilt. Not even a damn flinch.

I turned to him, my vision blurring, whether from unshed tears or sheer rage, I wasn’t sure.

"You were never mine to begin with," I whispered, each word tasting like acid on my tongue.

4

His eyes, which had been the most secure refuge I ever knew, were now merely an emptiness. Cold. Uncaring. "It ended well before we got started."

A part of me shattered, something I had maintained through sheer determination for many years.

I was aware we had issues. I was aware that our marriage wasn't flawless. But hearing him brush it off so effortlessly, as if it had never had meaning to him, pierced my chest with a sharp, nauseating ache.

Vanessa let out a dramatic sigh, her frustration slicing through the tension like a knife. "Dragging this out won’t change anything. Sebastian wants to move on. We want to move on."

We.

The word hit me hard like a slap.

I let out a hollow, bitter laugh, one that tasted of heartbreak and humiliation. "Move on? With my husband?"

Vanessa’s face stiffened, her jaw clenching. "He never truly belonged to you, Eve."

The room spun.

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my skin, willing myself to stay upright, to keep breathing.

Sebastian raked a hand through his hair, his voice tired. "Just sign the papers."

As if it was that simple.

As if he was asking me to sign away nothing more than a meaningless contract instead of the last three years of my life.

I lifted the papers again, my fingers trembling as I skimmed through the words.

Then I saw it.

My stomach twisted.

"You’re taking the house?" My voice was barely above a whisper, but the sharp edge in it cut through the room.

Sebastian’s expression remained unreadable. "You can keep the car."

I let out a humorless laugh. "The car."

A lump gathered in my throat, yet I forced it down. "Where am I supposed to go, Sebastian?"

Before he had a chance to reply, Vanessa interrupted, her tone carefree, nearly teasing. "You will figure it out."

Something within me broke.

Before I had a chance to think, I threw the papers directly at her. The sheets struck her chest and drifted down to the ground.

"Go to hell" I replied sharply.

Vanessa hardly showed any response. She just lifted an eyebrow, her grin steady.

Sebastian breathed out deeply. "Evelyn, please don’t complicate this any further."

I experienced a piercing, intense pain in my abdomen. I gasped suddenly, placing a hand against my side.

Not now.

I refused to show weakness.

Not in front of them.

I turned on my heel, storming toward the door. My fingers grasped the handle, but just as I was about to pull it open, Sebastian’s voice stopped me.

"If you fight this, it’ll get ugly."

I froze.

Slowly, I turned, my pulse hammering. "Excuse me?"

Was that supposed to be a threat, or want?”

His jaw clenched. "If you prolong this, if you create a spectacle, I will ensure you leave with nothing."

Vanessa’s smirk deepened.

The sharp pain in my stomach returned, white-hot and relentless.

I sucked in a breath, fingers digging into my abdomen.

Sebastian’s gaze flickered to my hands, a flicker of something, concern? passing over his features.

"Evelyn.."

I didn’t hear the rest.

The pain intensified, drowning out everything else.

The room blurred.

My knees buckled.

Someone called my name. Maybe Vanessa. Maybe Sebastian.

It didn’t matter.

Darkness crashed over me.

And then..

Nothing.