The Day Our Promise Breaks

Charles stood his ground and took the slap right on the cheek.

Mrs. Robinson showing up was a total surprise.

But honestly, Charles was happy about it.

Eve was carrying his child.

There was no way he'd let her get engaged—or worse, married-to Brooks and have his own kid call another man "Dad."

Still, when he saw Evelyn's eyes blazing red, her whole body trembling with anger, Charles dropped his voice, trying to soothe her. "Eve, if you're mad, take it out on me. Hit me, yell at me, whatever you need. Just don't get yourself worked up and risk the baby."

He grabbed Evelyn's hand, guiding it to his face, encouraging her to let it out. Evelyn didn't hesitate. She slapped him, hard, again and again.

She didn't hold back. If she could, she'd have smacked him out of existence.

All she wanted was to start fresh, to have a normal life. Everything was finally going well, and then he showed up and threw her whole world into chaos again. A group of cyclists appeared down the street, most of them women.

Charles was too striking to go unnoticed.

Evelyn could already hear them whispering, gossipy excitement buzzing in the air. She glanced over and saw their phones come up, snapping photos.

There was no way she was getting caught on camera with Charles-it was messy enough already.

She turned away, sidestepping the cameras, yanked her hand out of his, and walked off without looking back.noveldrama

"Eve."

Without thinking, Charles reached out and caught her hand.

Evelyn struggled even harder to break free.

She pulled too hard, and suddenly, the world spun.

After Charlie died, her health had crashed. No matter how much she tried to recover, she never really got back to normal.

Lately, she'd been pushing herself too hard behind Brooks' back, and her body just couldn't take it.

Pregnancy made eating a chore-nothing tasted good, no matter what Mrs. Robinson whipped up. Soups, smoothies, home cooking-nothing helped.

That's also why she hadn't gone through with the surgery.

Brooks worried her body couldn't handle it, insisting she get stronger before doing anything drastic.

Evelyn's legs gave out, and she stumbled right into Charles's arms.

"Eve."

Charles wrapped a steady arm around her waist, holding her up, his eyes searching her pale face. Without hesitation, he picked her up.

Evelyn wanted to fight, but she felt too awful. The more she struggled, the darker everything got.

She knew better than to push herself past her limit.

Charles, all nerves and worry, carried her to his car.

He buckled her in gently, squeezing her hand to calm her. "Eve, don't worry. I'm taking you to the hospital."

Evelyn just pulled her hand away, silent and cold.

Charles didn't care about her cold shoulder her health was all that mattered. He started the car and headed straight for Andrew's hospital, calling ahead for an emergency checkup.

By the time they arrived, Evelyn was out cold.

Charles carried her inside, careful as ever.

Andrew ran tests, checked on the baby and on Evelyn herself.

Charles called in a nutritionist to help her build her strength back up.

He had Andrew arrange for the best OB-GYN in the city.

Once everything was set, Charles sat at her bedside, unable to stop himself from

resting his hand gently on Evelyn's stomach.

Last time, when she was pregnant

with Charlie, he'd been blinded by his

own doubts and missed everything.

Missed the whole pregnancy. Missed Charlie's life.

This time, he was determined not to miss a single moment.

He'd be there for Eve and for their child, every step of the way.

That's when Evelyn woke up.

Charles noticed right away, his tone soft as he explained all the arrangements

he'd made, asking for her opinion.

He barely started before Evelyn cut him off.

"Charles, I'm not having this baby."

Her voice was steady, her eyes cold.

She wasn't just lashing out-she meant it. She really didn't want to keep their

child.

"Why?"

Charles blurted it out before he could stop himself.

He'd never imagined Evelyn would want to end the pregnancy. She loved children.

"Why? You want to know why? Because you don't deserve it!"

Charles was left speechless.

He knew he didn't deserve it, but if

fate was giving them another

chance if it was giving Charlie

another chance-he wanted to make

things right. To make it up to her. To Charlie.

Charles dropped to his knees by the bed, desperate. "Eve, the baby's innocent.

Please, I'm begging you, don't do this. Don't be so cruel."

"And what? So you can ruin another child?"

Evelyn's eyes were icy as she stared at him.

Charlie's death was a pain she'd never escape.

The reminder hit Charles just as hard. His chest tightened, all the color draining

from his face.