Chapter 2
Just as Elara was about to speak, Damien’s face hardened. He yanked her to her feet.
“Stop the act,” his voice was glacial. “Isabelle fell from the fifth floor. You just rolled down a flight of stairs.”
“Get up. We’re going to the hospital so you can apologize.”
2011 C
He dragged her mercilessly toward the door, completely ignoring the blood streaming from her forehead and the fresh agony from
her knee, which screamed in protest with every step.
Elara was shoved into the car, remaining silent the entire way.
She stared at the blurred city lights flying past the window, her mind focused on a single thought. Just endure it. Just a little longer,
and you’ll be free.
In the hospital room, Isabelle was propped against the pillows, her face pale, a pristine white bandage wrapped around her wrist.
The moment she saw Elara, she flinched, her eyes instantly welling with tears.
“Damien…” she trembled, her voice like that of a frightened deer. “I… I don’t want to see her…
Damien immediately rushed to her side, taking her hand gently. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here. No one will hurt you.”
He then turned, his gaze falling on Elara like a physical blow. “What are you standing there for? Apologize.”
Elara, though exhausted, was unnervingly calm.
She looked directly at Isabelle and asked softly, “Miss Croft, when you fell from that window… was it really me who pushed you?”
Isabelle’s eyelashes fluttered, and a tear rolled down her cheek. “If you don’t want to apologize, it’s fine, Miss Vance. I never intend-
ed to cause you trouble.”
She began to sob, her voice thick with heartbreak. “I know Damien has been spending all his time with me, and it’s only natural for
you to resent that. But you two only have a marriage of convenience. He doesn’t love you. If it weren’t for the fact that my backgro-
und doesn’t match his, he would never have been yours in the first place…”
Her crying grew more intense, and Damien’s expression grew darker with every tear.
“Seraphina!” he snapped. “I brought you here to apologize, not to agitate her! Are you going to do it or not?”
Elara closed her eyes for a moment.
She knew Isabelle was framing her.
But… she was so close to leaving.
She couldn’t afford any problems with the family alliance. If something went wrong, she wouldn’t get her five million dollars. She
wouldn’t get her freedom.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “It was my fault.”
With that, she turned to leave.
“Stay,” Damien’s cold voice stopped her. “Since you’re the one who pushed her, you’ll stay here and take care of her until she’s disc
harged.”
Elara’s fingers curled slightly at her side. Finally, she nodded. “Fine.”
For the next few days, Elara remained by Isabelle’s bedside, a constant, silent presence.
20.11
Chapter 2
2011
Damien practically lived at the hospital, abandoning all his company duties to personally feed Isabelle broth, wipe her hands, and
soothe her to sleep…
These were all things he had never once done for Elara.
But Elara felt no jealousy. She just quietly cared for Isabelle, her expression serene, as if
The nurses whispered amongst themselves.
“My God, I’ve never seen a wife be so gracious!”
mafone of it had anything to do with her.
“You don’t get it. This is the highest form of love,” another nurse sighed. “She loved int
care for the woman he loves, just for the chance that he might look her
Damien happened to overhear this as he was walking past.
It’s
way. SO
He paused, his gaze involuntarily drawn to the slender figure inside the room.
”
Blackwood
so much that she’s willing to
Elara was looking down, her head bowed in concentration as she peeled an apple, her profile quiet and docile.
A strange, unfamiliar feeling stirred in Damien’s chest.
The day Isabelle was discharged, Damien spoke to Elara directly. “I’m taking Isabelle on
unless it’s an emergency.”
Elara nodded. “Alright.”
વે
trip for
a few
days. Don’t contact me
Finally, she wouldn’t have to face them anymore.
She watched him lead Isabelle away, his hand protectively on her arm. A sense of relief washed
over
her.
Back at the estate, she began packing her bags, preparing for her departure.
A few days later, she scrolled past a new post on Isabelle’s social media feed.
Damien had taken her to the Maldives. He’d won a bidding war for her at a charity auction, buying a lantern in her name, and had spent a fortune on a necklace she admired.
Elara glanced at the photos once before calmly scrolling on.
She didn’t care.
She had never cared at all.
