My husband said he was “on a business trip” — but when I went to the hospital to visit my sick friend, I suddenly heard his voice behind the door… and what I heard chilled me to the bone.

My pulse did not accelerate. It vanished. I stepped closer, peering through the narrow opening.

Paige sat comfortably upon the bed, her complexion glowing with unmistakable vitality, while Evan stood beside her holding a porcelain plate arranged with sliced apples and strawberries. The intimacy of the scene struck with surgical precision, because his expression mirrored the tenderness I once believed belonged solely to our marriage.

“My wife is so demanding about nutrition,” he joked softly.

My wife. The words echoed strangely within my mind, as if language itself had detached from meaning.

Paige reached for his hand. “When will you finally tell Caroline everything?” she asked quietly. “I am exhausted from pretending, and hiding becomes increasingly absurd considering I am pregnant.”

Pregnant.

Evan bent forward without hesitation, pressing his lips gently against her stomach. Five hours earlier, those same lips had rested against my skin.

“Patience,” he replied calmly. “Divorce requires timing, especially when every asset remains under her control.”

I felt reality shift. Not violently. But with irreversible finality.

Paige’s voice trembled slightly. “Sometimes I almost feel guilty.”