You Faked Your Death for Her？Great！I Had His Baby Chapter 04

You Faked Your Death for Her？Great！I Had His Baby Chapter 04

Sophie’s smile stiffened.

Her eyes reddened almost instantly, and one hand drifted toward her stomach.

“Evelyn, I only wanted to thank Ethan because he’s taught me so much at work…”

“If you don’t like me coming here, I won’t come again.”

Ethan frowned.

“Evie, why are you being so rude?”

I didn’t look at him.

I pulled the front door open.

“That’s just how I am.”

‘You…”

He took a step after me, then stopped short with Sophie and his hiking buddies still standing there.

When he spoke again, his voice was lower.

“She just came here to ask for some time off. Do you really need to get angry over that?”

I turned around and looked at him.

“All I said was homemade soup goes bad if nobody drinks it.”

My voice stayed calm.

“Was I wrong?”

Sophie tugged gently at Ethan’s sleeve, her eyes still red.

“Ethan, stop. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have come..”

Ethan’s expression darkened.

Then he turned all that irritation on me.

“Whatever’s going on between us has nothing to do with her. Why drag someone else into it?”

“Is getting married seriously all you ever think about?”

He looked at me.

“What, you can’t live without a man?”

The second the words left his mouth, his lips pressed together.

But instead of taking them back, he doubled down.

“Anyway, I’ve already made plans with the guys. We’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”

“The wedding isn’t happening now. That doesn’t mean it’s never happening. Stop making a scene.”

“Picking on some young girl just makes you look petty.”

A laugh slipped out of me.

“Whatever you say.”

Then I walked out without looking back.

One of his hiking buddies hurried to intervene.

“Ethan, maybe you should go after Evelyn. We’re going to be gone for a while. You probably don’t want to leave things like this between you two.”

Ethan didn’t move.

“Go after her for what?”

“So she can keep pushing her luck next time?”

“Let her go.”

“She’d better not come crawling back begging me later.”

The door closed behind me.

Even through it, I heard Ethan curse under his breath.

As I walked away, I suddenly thought about every fight we’d ever had.

It seemed like I was always the one who gave in first.

If he gave me the silent treatment, I never made it more than three days before texting him.

If he was in a bad mood, I cooked for him until he ate.

If he told me I was annoying, I stopped talking.

I used to think that was what people in long–term relationships did.

Work through differences.

Compromise.

Make it work.

Someone always had to take a step back.

It wasn’t until that moment that I realized I’d gotten it wrong.

I was the only one who ever stepped back.

Sophie had known him for six months.

Six months.

And he’d given her the position I’d once dreamed of

A baby.

He was even willing to disappear into the Presidential Traverse for ten months just to take care of her.

Our relationship had always been ordinary.

Even at our best, I’d never gotten that kind of special treatment.

I’d wanted a baby for a long time.

Ethan had gone to extremes to make sure I never got pregnant.

Now I understood.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want children.

He just didn’t want them with me.

Looking back, he’d been working late more and more over the past six months.

The text messages had multiplied too.

I’d told myself he was working hard to get the company in order before our wedding.

Turns out, so much had already been decided.

Some weddings simply weren’t meant to happen.

Ours was one of them.

By the time I got home, it was ten at night.

Ethan had already left.

The housekeeper met me at the door and took my bag.

She hesitated before speaking.

“Ms. Rhodes, Mr. Holloway said they’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning, so they’re staying at a hotel near the airport tonight.”

“He asked me to let you know.”

“Okay.”

I went upstairs.

I slept well.

On the first day of Thanksgiving weekend, I quietly got my marriage certificate.

No wedding.

No engagement photos.

Just the two of us and the signed marriage paperwork.

The certificate was still in my hand when my phone buzzed.

A message from Ethan.

[All right, Evie. What’s done is done. I’m here now, so stop being mad at me.]

His shared location showed him near the Presidential Traverse.

Exactly where it was supposed to be.

I laughed once and was about to block his number.

Then I caught sight of a man and a woman at the bottom.