Chapter 3

Micheal's pov

By the time I woke up, the house was unusually quiet. Something was off. I could feel it.

“Evelyn?” I called out as I climbed down the staircase. No response.

Maybe, she was in her room. I turned back and entered the hallway that led to her room.

“Evelyn?” I called out again. There was no response.

Was she sleeping in? But it's 7am and the Evelyn I know wakes up before the crack of dawn to prepare breakfast. Was she taking a longer time to get up? Or was she dead? She did look beat up last night.

“Evelyn?” I knocked on the door. When there was no response, I lost my patience. “That's it! I'm coming in whether you like it or not!”

I pushed the door open and was taken aback.

The room was empty.

The bed was stripped bare, her wardrobe doors were left ajar, revealing only empty hangers. Her shoe rack was empty even though the vanity was bare. Not a single Evelyn was in this room. It was like she had vanished.

What the hell!

“What the hell..” I stepped into the room, unable to believe my eyes.

Evelyn was really home. Completely gone.

Why the hell did she leave?!

I stormed out of the room and summoned the guards.

They gathered in the living room downstairs, all three dressed in their pressed suits.

“Where is she?” I asked.

“Who?” One of them asked.

Anger flared in me. “Evelyn, goddammit! Where is she!”

When I looked at Tyler, my head guard, his face paled. He knows something.

“Talk.”

“S - sir, she left last night. She - - she told us she was going to visit a distant friend.”

I lost it. “A friend? She told you she was going to see a friend and you let her walk out? With the bruises and all?”

Tyler shook his head. “But sir, she insisted. We - -”

“Save it!”

“Sir?”

“Get out! All of you! And don't return until you find her!” I gave the order and stalked back upstairs.

Shit.

Why would Evelyn leave? She had absolutely no reason to. It's not like she had a family to run to. Evelyn wasn't the type of woman to fight back when people pushed her around so why would she revolt now? Where the hell did she go? And who's this distant friend of hers?

I returned to her room, hoping to find some clue. If she left in a hurry, there would be some kind of giveaway. My eyes scanned the marble floor, the dresser, every corner of the room. But there was nothing.

“Goddammit! Has she been planning to run away this whole time?!” I raked my hand through my head. “Damn her!”

Just as I turned to leave, something caught my eye. It was on the floor behind the bedside table.

Hold on.

When I bent down to pick up the item, my face paled. It was a white stick.

I blinked as I studied it. Two pink lines.

Two pink lines?

The realization hit me like a freight train.

Holy shit! Pregnant!

My hand tightened around the test. So Evelyn was pregnant.

Evelyn, my dear wife. The woman I had humiliated and told to leave… was pregnant.

She was carrying my child.

I sank to one of the plush couches clutching the test in my hand. My eyes fell on the empty look again. If Evelyn was pregnant, why did she run?

I thought quietly to myself and suddenly, everything was coming together now.

The hurried exit seemed unnatural. She planned this! That wench! She knew I wanted an heir and yet she chose to run with the baby. My baby!

“Damn it, Evelyn!” I pulled out my phone from my pocket and shoved the test in.

I had to find her and I knew just the man to find her.

My finger hovered over the screen of my iPhone as I dialed his number.

The second the dial tone clicked, I barked into the receiver. “What took you so long to answer!”

“Ever heard of a ‘Good morning?’ It's 7 am in the goddamn morning.” Marshall replied on the other end with a yawn.

I rolled my eyes. “Good grief.”

“Talk to me.”

“Evelyn's gone. I need you to find her.”

There was a brief pause before he replied. “Where should I start?”

I snapped. “How the heck should I know? You're a PI. Go figure! Bus stations, Airports, hotels, everywhere. Find her!”

“It's going to cost you.”

“Fuck the cost! I'll double your price. Just find Evelyn and bring her to me.

“You got it, boss.”

I ended the call, clenching my fists so hard they turned white. The silence was killing me.

A few hours later, I dialled Marshall back, hoping for a better response but there was none.

I did it again and it was the same result - “We can't find her!”

Where could she have gone?!

Hours turned into days and every lead Marshal followed hit a dead end.

Hours turned into days and my frustrations grew.

My heavy sensation filled my heart. Something I had never felt before.

Did I miss Evelyn?

I shook my head. I couldn't miss her. No. She was out there, somewhere in God knows where and she was carrying my child.

Why was she out of reach?

Where could she have gone?

With everything going on, I needed a distraction and work was the best one yet. But it didn't stop me from thinking about Evelyn.

I sank back in my chair staring at my phone. It was 4 : 59pm. Marshal would call any minute from now.

At exactly 5pm, his name flashed on the screen.

“What do you have?” I asked, not bothering about getting.

“We've got something.” He said slowly.

I sat up, excitement rushing in my veins. “Yes. And?”

“Well, it leads to someone.”

“Marshal, talk!”

“I think you're going to meet him soon.”

“Who? Evelyn's so-called distant friend?”

“No, sir. Her… lawyer.”

“What?” My grip tightened on the phone.

Lawyer? Why would Evelyn want a lawyer? What was she planning!

“Yes.” Marshal’s voice resurfaced. “Apparently, he's contacting you for the divorce papers?”

“Divorce papers?”

“Yes. Evelyn wants a divorce.”