Elaris’s POV
My breath hitched, and before I knew it, I was already striding toward the kitchen, fury rising so fast it felt like it might tear me apart.
“You’ll be what?” I snapped.
Draven turned at the sound of my voice, and his face darkened at once.
“Lower your voice,” he said sharply. “You’ll upset her.”
I let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. “Upset her? Since when do you make decisions in this house without speaking to me first?”
“I’m sorry, Seraphina,” Nyra said softly, her eyes already shimmering with tears. “There was a gas leak in the townhouse this morning, and Draven thought it would be safer if I stayed here, especially in my condition. Please don’t be angry. I can leave right now.”
I almost laughed in her face.
Her act was so thin, so pathetic, it was insulting.
Still, she pushed herself up from her chair like some fragile little thing, swaying just enough to look weak. Before she could even pretend to stumble, Draven was already at her side, one arm around her waist as though she were something precious.
“Sit down, Nyra,” he said, his voice softening in a way I had not heard in months. “Eat. I’ll talk to Seraphina.”
Nyra nodded and lowered herself back into the chair. Then she reached for the plate in front of her.
My chest tightened the moment I saw it.
Honey cakes.
Draven had made them himself.
I knew because of the little smile he had drizzled over the top with honey. It had always been his stupid habit.
The last time he made them for me was seven months ago. He had called them our special thing.
Now he was making them for her.
“Come with me,” he said, all warmth vanishing the second he looked at me again.
He led me to our bedroom and shut the door behind us.
“Nyra is staying here until she gives birth,” he said without preamble. “I’m not leaving her alone in that townhouse. And besides, you owe her. She ended up in the hospital yesterday because of you.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “As if she was the only one in the hospital.”
Draven exhaled through his nose, already sounding annoyed.
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls yesterday, Seraphina, but I was angry. Nyra is pregnant. I’m sure you don’t understand what that feels like, since you’ve never been pregnant.”
His words sliced straight through me.
We tried everything, but we could not save the baby.
The doctor’s voice rang through my mind all over again, crueler now because he did not know.
Because he had never cared enough to ask.
“Seraphina,” Draven said, his voice softening as if that could somehow undo what he had just said, “Nyra’s father helped me years ago, before he died. He made me promise I’d look after her. I failed him. That’s why she came back to this city broken and bruised from that marriage. Every day, I blame myself. If I had stepped in sooner, maybe she would never have suffered that way. Now we finally have a chance to help her. Don’t you agree? It’s only for a few months.”
I blinked hard and turned my face away.
The same excuse.
Always the same excuse.
Nyra is pregnant, Seraphina.
I failed her father, Seraphina.
Without him, I wouldn’t have built this empire, and you wouldn’t have the life you have now, Seraphina.
She’s suffered enough, Seraphina. Show some compassion.
“Yeah,” I said sharply. “Whatever.”
At once, his expression eased, as though my surrender pleased him.
He stepped forward, wrapped his arms around me, and kissed my forehead.
“You’re the best,” he murmured.
Then he suddenly paused, his brow furrowing.
“Why do you smell like antiseptic?”
My whole body went still.
Before I could answer, Nyra’s voice floated in from outside.
“Draven!”
Just like that, the faint concern on his face vanished.
He turned and walked out immediately, drawn to her as if I had never been standing there at all.
I stayed in the room until I heard the sound of his car disappearing beyond the estate gates. He was probably on his way to a meeting with the captains.
Only a few moments later, the door opened again.
Nyra stepped inside with a smug curve to her lips, every trace of weakness gone.
“I love this room, Seraphina,” she said, glancing around as though she already owned it. “I think I’ll ask Draven to give it to me when he gets back.”
I looked at her coldly. “Whatever you want, Nyra.”
She giggled and clasped her hands together. “Good. You’ve finally accepted it. That I’m above you. That I’m the woman your husband really wants.”
“Keep dreaming.”
She laughed, then tilted her head.
“Oh, and one more thing. Draven never saw any of the calls you made yesterday. I made sure of that.”
My anger hit so hard I could barely breathe.
“You monster. I could have died.”
Nyra only shrugged. “That would’ve made things easier for my son. I doubt he’d want to share Draven with anyone.”
I stared at her in horror.
“Wait until I tell Draven the truth. He’ll see what you really are.”
She laughed again, louder this time.
“You still don’t get it, do you? Draven is mine. Maybe you need a harsher lesson before you finally accept it.”
I brushed past her and left the room before I did something I would regret.
I needed air. Distance. Anything but her perfume and that smug little smile.
And if there really was another mouth to feed under this roof now, then I needed to bring in more groceries too.
But more than that, I couldn’t stay in that house another second while she stood there smiling, knowing I had lost my baby and saying nothing. If I remained, I might have wrapped my hands around her throat and squeezed until the world went quiet.
But tonight, I told myself, I would tell Draven everything.
He didn’t know the truth.
He was being played by her.
That was what I still wanted to believe.
After buying what we needed, I wandered into one of the family’s private lounges above the casino and sat there for a while, pretending to read while trying to steady my thoughts.
I must have lost track of time.
By the time my phone buzzed, evening had already fallen.
Frowning, I picked it up and saw Nyra’s name on the screen.
A chill ran through me.
I opened the message.
It was a video.
Draven.
Kissing Nyra.
My phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a sharp crack.
I shook my head at once.
No.
No, that couldn’t be real.
Draven would never—
My breathing turned faster and faster until I could barely stand. I snatched up my coat and rushed outside, waving down a car as panic pounded through me.
The whole way home, I told myself Nyra was lying. That she had staged it somehow. That she only wanted to break me.
But the moment I saw Draven’s car waiting outside the estate, my heart dropped.
I ran for the door.
Then I heard it.
Low, breathless moans drifting from my bedroom.
And in that instant, I knew.
