The white walls of the hospital felt colder than usual, almost suffocating. When I woke up, my leg was in a cast, and my heart felt just as broken.
I thought I’d have time to breathe, to heal. But peace never lasts long in this family.
The door burst open, and my father stormed in, his voice like thunder. “What the hell is happening to you, Emerald?”
I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my leg. “Dad—”
“Did you just send the police to our house to arrest your stepsister?” he barked. His glare was heavy enough to crush me. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“She tried to kill me,” I said, voice trembling but firm. “She pushed me down the stairs, Dad. I could have died.”
Amber appeared behind him, her arm in a sling, tears pooling in her eyes. “That’s not true! I was trying to talk to you, Emerald. You’re the one who slipped! You pushed yourself and now you’re framing me for it!”
I stared at her in disbelief. “You liar! You—”
“Enough!” my father shouted, cutting through both our voices. “Do you hear yourselves? This is a disgrace! Fighting like this in public, dragging our family’s name through the mud!”
“Dad, please—”
Before I could finish, his hand cracked across my cheek. The slap echoed in the quiet room, sharper than the machines around me.
“You will not shame this family again,” he said coldly. “Do you understand me?”
Tears filled my eyes, but my voice came out steady. “I want a divorce.”
He froze. For a second, he looked at me like I had cursed his bloodline. “What did you just say?”
“I said I want a divorce,” I repeated.
His eyes blazed. “Divorce? You think I will allow that in this family? Are you serious, Emerald? Do you want to ruin us completely?”
He raised his hand again, but before it could reach me, my mother rushed in and caught his arm. “Stop it!” she shouted. “She’s hurt! Can’t you see that? Stop hurting her!”
“She’s destroying everything we built!” my father snapped.
“She’s our daughter!” my mother cried, pulling me into her arms. “She’s not even healed yet. Please, just let me talk to her.”
He glared at both of us, his chest rising with restrained fury. “Fix this,” he said finally. “Make her apologize. I won’t allow our name to be tainted by a family scandal. And don’t you dare mention divorce again.”
When he left, the room fell silent except for the steady rhythm of the heart monitor. I couldn’t hold it anymore—I broke down.
“Mom…” I whispered through tears.
She wrapped her arms tighter around me, trembling herself. “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I’m sorry for being weak. For never leaving your father when I should have. For letting you grow up thinking this kind of pain was normal.”
I cried harder, gripping her hand. “Please, help me. I don’t want to live like this anymore. Nathan—he’s been lying to me. Amber… she’s not innocent. Lorenzo—he’s Nathan’s son. She lied to everyone.”
My mother stiffened. She looked at me, eyes wide, shocked, then whispered, “If that’s true… then ask for help from your brother. Reid will know what to do.”
She cupped my face gently. “I can’t divorce your father, Emerald. But you can. It’s not too late for you. You can still save yourself.”
Her words clung to me long after she left.
Days passed. My leg began to heal, but my heart didn’t. Nathan never came—not a single visit, not even a message. The only thing that came was a blow I didn’t expect.
Scrolling through my phone, I saw his face on social media. Nathan. Smiling. Standing beside Amber and Lorenzo at a restaurant. Their hands intertwined, their smiles perfect. The caption read: Family lunch after a long week.
My blood ran cold. Family. That word was mine once.
How dare they?
That night, I received a message from Reid.
Reid: I heard what happened. Rest for now. I’ll take care of the divorce. Three days. Just hold on, Emerald. After that, everything changes.
For the first time in years, I let myself believe him.
When I was discharged, I returned home. The house felt unfamiliar—too quiet, too empty. I started packing my things, one by one, carefully folding away the pieces of a life that had already ended.
I was almost done when the front door opened. Nathan walked in, the sound of his footsteps sharp and impatient.
“What are you doing?” he asked, voice cold.
“I’m going on a vacation,” I said simply, not bothering to look at him.
“Vacation?” He let out a humorless laugh. “After what you did to Amber? You think I’d let you go anywhere?”
I turned to him, frowning. “What are you talking about? I just got back from the hospital.”
He slapped me, sudden and hard. The shock made me stumble backward, my hand gripping the edge of the bed.
“She was kidnapped!” he shouted. “Amber—and Lorenzo! They’re gone! And the men who did it said it was your brother Reid!”
For a moment, the world tilted. I froze, processing his words. Then, slowly, a strange laugh escaped me—soft at first, then louder, until it filled the room.
“Well,” I said, wiping a tear from my cheek, “are they alive?”
Nathan’s face twisted in disbelief. “What the hell is wrong with you? So, you dare hurt her?” he shouted, pacing furiously. “Even asking your bastard brother just to get revenge because you’re mad? You’re the one who fall down—”
I looked at him calmly, my voice steady now. “So what? Who cares about them?”
He grabbed my arm, furious. “You’ll pay for this!”
“Why would I?” I said, meeting his eyes. “I’m your wife… Or was it because all this time, you’ve been having an affair with my stepsister?”
