He didn’t flinch.
In that instant I understood — with brutal clarity — that I meant nothing to him anymore.
“For now,” he said without meeting my eyes, “keep your distance from Catrina. Think about what you did.”
I laughed — a sharp, bitter sound that felt foreign in my throat.
“Take her to her room,” he ordered the staff. “Don’t let her be seen until I say so.”
A bodyguard reached for me.
“Don’t touch me,” I said, cold and small. I pushed myself up and walked away. Nobody stopped me.
---
Being sequestered in a penthouse isn’t glamorous when it’s exile disguised as protection. Rumors wormed their way in regardless — whispers through vents, gossip slipped by careless maids.
“Mr. Wynn was in Miss Catrina’s suite again last night.”
“She’s his first love. Amara only married because of that embryo.”
“The transplant failed to save her baby… and now Catrina’s pregnant with the heir. Amara’s finished.”
I heard it all. None of it surprised me. The sting dulled until it was just a hollow ache, like the ruins left after a blaze.
A maid froze outside my door. “M-Mrs. Wynn…” she stammered, then fled, leaving a whisper that cut deeper than any insult: “Mr. Wynn said the only Mrs. Wynn now is Catrina.”
That night my body broke down. Fever, chills — every step felt like walking through thick mud — but I managed to stagger to the in-house clinic, vision wavering.
“Please,” I begged, fingers pressed to the wall. “Something for the fever.”
The family doctor looked away. “I’m sorry, Miss Amara. Mr. Wynn insisted Miss Catrina’s care comes first. You’re no longer—” His sentence tapered off. I laughed then — a hollow, cracked sound, the part of me that tried to hold it together finally giving up.
On the way back, Catrina’s door was ajar. I shouldn’t have looked. I did.
Nathan was curled around her like she was air. Hands everywhere, lips to her neck. “Easy, love,” she murmured. “There’s a billion-dollar baby in there.”
“Our son,” he said reverently. “Our legacy.”
My stomach lurched. I couldn’t move. She leaned closer, taunting. “I wonder if Amara ever made those noises. She seems… so dull.”
“Don’t bring her up,” Nathan muttered, still pressed to her. “She’s cold. Like kissing marble. I only married her because I had to.”
I hadn’t realized I was crying until salt hit my lips. I bit my tongue until it bled; the physical pain anchored me while the rest of me unraveled.
I collapsed into my bed, burning and hollow. The next morning I texted my brother: “I’m coming home.” He answered immediately, ecstatic. “Are you serious?! Amara, this is amazing! I’ll book a ticket.” Then, practical: “What about Nathan?” I typed: “I’ll divorce him.”
Then the door opened. Catrina glided in, silk draped and smug, one hand on her belly. “You saw last night, didn’t you?” she purred. “Nathan’s been sleeping in my bed for weeks. This baby? His. His legacy.”
She came closer. “About that necklace,” she said lightly. “I smashed it on purpose. Family heirloom? Gone. Just like your baby.”
My stomach turned. She smiled, cruel. “And when I told Nathan your embryo could save me? He didn’t hesitate. He personally signed off on the surgery.”
My mouth filled with bile. Catrina laughed, delighted.
“One tiny thing,” she giggled. “It was a lie.”
“What?” I croaked.
She shrugged like it was trivial. “I paid the doctor to fake the report. Your embryo was worthless to me. I only wanted to see if Nathan would choose me over your child.”
The room tilted. “He did. Without question. He was willing to kill your baby for me.”
Her voice slid in, sweet and poisonous: “Sorry? Not sorry.” Then she left, the door sealing like a verdict.
I crumpled to the floor. I wanted to tear her apart, but my body wouldn’t obey. They hadn’t just taken my child; they’d taken everything I trusted — love, family, faith. Something inside me snapped hard and cold.
No more tears. No more pleas. A vow formed, bright and merciless:
They would pay — Nathan, Catrina, his mother, the bought doctor, the guards who held me down. I would tear their dynasty apart, piece by piece. I would make them suffer exactly as they had made me suffer.
Next time they saw me, it would be too late. I wouldn’t merely survive. I’d become a legend written in their blood.
