(Elara’s POV)
The next morning, I insisted on leaving the hospital.
My body still felt weak, and every movement sent dull pain through my stomach, but I could not remain there any longer.
Steele disagreed with my decision, “You should rest another day,” he said, standing near the door.
“I’ve rested enough.” My voice sounded hollow even to me.
Silence stretched between us before Steele finally sighed “Alright then, let Rowan drive you.”
I nodded quietly.
Before leaving, Steele looked at me for several seconds like he wanted to say something else but instead, he said “Call me if anything happens.”
That simple sentence affected me more than it should have because, for years, I had begged Damien to notice when I was hurting. Steele noticed naturally without me asking.
The drive back to the Vale mansion felt painfully long.
I stared silently out the window while memories replayed endlessly inside my head.
Mila calling Vivienne ‘Mommy’.
The birthday party, the strange taste of the water, blood, my baby…
My fingers slowly tightened against my lap.
By the time the car stopped in front of the mansion, I already felt exhausted again.
The servants opened the gates quickly after spotting the car’s model, but their eyes immediately widened when they saw me stepping out.
Whispers spread almost instantly.
“She’s back…”
“I heard she disappeared overnight…”
“Mrs Vale looks terrible…”
I ignored them and walked inside.
The mansion was brightly lit despite the early hours. Voices drifted from the living room before I even reached the stairs.
Then I saw them.
Vivienne sat comfortably beside Mila on the large cream-colored couch while helping her peel strawberries onto a plate. Mila leaned against her happily while swinging her legs.
Like mother and daughter.
Meanwhile Evelyn Vale sat nearby drinking tea elegantly while Lucien Vale read through some documents in complete silence.
Damien stood beside the window speaking on the phone.
For one brief second, nobody noticed me.
Then Mila suddenly looked up “Mommy Vivienne said she’ll take me shopping later!” she said excitedly, hugging Vivienne’s arm tighter.
Vivienne smiled softly before finally lifting her gaze toward me.
“Oh,” she said gently. “You’re back.”
The sweetness in her voice made my stomach twist violently.
Evelyn noticed me immediately afterward, and her expression darkened at once “So the embarrassment finally decided to return home.”
The room instantly became tense.
Damien slowly turned toward me after ending his call. His eyes moved briefly over my pale face before hardening “Where were you?”
His first question wasn't whether I was okay or what had happened to me. It was simply where I had been… Even now, he didn't care.
Evelyn scoffed loudly before setting her teacup down “You disappeared without explanation after humiliating this family publicly. Reporters have been calling nonstop since yesterday.” Her cold eyes swept over me disgustedly. “Do you realize how much damage you caused?”
I said nothing.
Vivienne suddenly spoke softly “Elara probably just needed time to calm down.”
Fake concern wrapped in silk.
Lucien Vale finally lowered the document in his hand and looked toward me calmly. Unlike Evelyn, Damien’s father never raised his voice, which somehow made him colder.
“If you intended to leave the house overnight,” he said evenly, “informing your husband beforehand would be proper.”
My chest tightened painfully. Not one person in this family cared if I was hurt.
Then Mila frowned suddenly while looking at me “You look scary.”
Silence filled the room.
Mila tilted her head slightly before continuing innocently “Mommy Vivienne says stress makes women age faster.”
My fingers immediately stiffened at my side.
The words dragged me straight back to yesterday outside the school gates when Vivienne said “Stress can be very dangerous for delicate things.”
Coldness spread slowly through my chest.
Vivienne knew… She knew about the pregnancy somehow.
My stomach twisted violently again. Then Mila wrinkled her nose slightly.
“And you smell like hospital.”
For a moment, I wondered if she would ask whether I was sick… She didn't.
Vivienne rubbed Mila's shoulder gently. “Mila, don't be rude.”
Yet there was no warning in her voice. If anything, she looked pleased.
Hours ago, I would have broken down from Mila’s words. But now… I only felt tired of it all.
Evelyn suddenly spoke again “No wonder Mila prefers Vivienne. Look at the difference between the two of you.”
That should have shattered me too, but strangely it didn’t. Because something inside me had already broken completely inside that hospital room.
Damien finally walked toward me slowly, his expression cold “You disappeared without answering your phone,” he said flatly. “Do you have any idea how childish that was?”
I stared at him.
Childish?
Without another word, I walked past all of them toward the staircase. Nobody stopped or followed me.
When I entered the bedroom, everything looked the same. Cold.
I stood there silently for several seconds before slowly sitting at the edge of the bed.
Memories filled every corner of the room…. Years of begging for affection, waiting for Damien to love me.
My hand instinctively moved to my stomach. There was no baby anymore.
Less than twenty-four hours ago, I had been thinking about how to protect my child and leave this family. Now there was nothing left to protect.
Tears burned my eyes, but I forced them back down.
I was done crying and begging. I was done humiliating myself for people who never cared about me.
Hours passed, and night settled over the mansion.
Damien returned to the room much later. The bedroom door opened before footsteps approached. I didn’t turn around immediately.
Damien loosened his tie while speaking behind me “My mother is still furious about yesterday.”
Silence.
“You’ll apologize to her tomorrow.”
Still I said nothing.
Finally, Damien frowned. “Elara.”
I slowly turned toward him then.
For one second, confusion crossed his face because I wasn’t looking at him with those sick-love eyes anymore. I simply looked tired. Done.
Damien’s brows furrowed slightly. “What’s wrong with you?”
A hollow laugh almost escaped me. What was wrong with me?
I lost our child yesterday, Vivienne possibly poisoned me, Mila hates me… Yet somehow, you still thought the problem was me.
I stood slowly from the bed before finally looking directly at Damien Vale.
“I want a divorce.”
