Chapter 4
At that moment, the whole world fell silent.
Shannon felt an invisible hand clutching her heart, as if ripping it from her chest, leaving her gasping in pain.
She stood frozen, watching as Caspian held the woman close. He whispered to her, kissed her, and laughed with her. Then, the two of them disappeared from sight.
Caspian had someone else.
That was the only thought left in Shannon’s mind.
The downpour soaked her from head to toe, but she walked through the rain as if she felt nothing.
Her empty eyes stared ahead, while the scene she had just witnessed replayed over and over in her head.
12 years. It had been 12 whole years.
Other than her parents, Caspian had been the best person to her in the entire world.
He had been so good to her that Shannon used to think meeting him had cost her all the luck she’d ever have.
She thought of the young man who once climbed through her window in the middle of the night. His eyes had shone with confidence as he promised to love her forever.
He had shielded her with his own body when she was cornered by thugs.
He had firmly defended her when Alena berated her for not having a child.
How did Caspian become this person?
The man who once only had eyes for Shannon now had someone else by his side.
The lips that had belonged only to her now kissed another.
The hands that had only traced her body were now roaming over someone else’s.
Pain tore through her chest, ripping her heart apart piece by piece.
The villa was dark, the suffocating silence pressing down on Shannon like a cage.
But she barely noticed. She sat curled up on the floor, scrolling numbly through the files the butler, Ryan Buchanan, had sent her.
So, this was the truth.
After confirming Shannon couldn’t have children, Alena had pressured Caspian time and time again to find another woman to bear his child.
Caspian had refused—over and over—because he loved Shannon too much.
But in the end, Alena resorted to slitting her wrists, threatening her own life again and again. Until one day, she lay in the bathtub, covered in blood.
And so, Caspian caved.
He chose Elsie Barker, a woman from the lowest rungs of society who bore an 80% resemblance to Shannon.
Caspian chose Elsie because she resembled Shannon—and so would the child she bore. Secondly, she had neither power nor money, making her easy to discard when the time came.
At first, out of love and guilt for Shannon, Caspian never touched Elsie. The plan was only IVF. Until one night, a business partner got him drunk.
And in his drunken haze, he mistook Elsie for Shannon. That was one reckless night.
And that night was Shannon’s birthday.
Her husband was in bed with another woman on her birthday.
Shannon let out a strangled laugh, tears spilling down her face. She didn’t even know if she was crying over how pathetic she was or laughing at the irony of his so-called devotion.
Caspian was the one who said it didn’t matter if they had no children. “Having you is enough for me, babe.”
But in the end, he still slept with another woman for the sake of a child.
Caspian, oh, Caspian. This was the love he swore was worth dying for?
If he really couldn’t take it anymore, if he really wanted a child, he could have just told her. She would have been devastated, but she would have divorced him and walked out of his life.
He shouldn’t have said he loved her while having a child with another woman, creating a whole new family.
Shannon trembled as she put down her phone. Lifting her gaze, she took in the home she and Caspian had built together.
Every corner of this place was filled with proof of their love.
She used to look around with nothing but happiness in her eyes. She told Caspian that one day, when they were old, they’d pass this house down to their children, so they could carry that love forward.
But now? It made her sick.
She grabbed a hammer from the toolbox and tore through the house—shattering their wedding photo, destroying the furniture they had picked together, and demolishing every gift Caspian had ever given her.
She didn’t stop until there was nothing left.
