“Don’t you plan to explain yourself?” Alaric asked coldly.

“There’s nothing to explain,” I replied.

“If you admit it, I’ll charge you with intentional injury.”

I froze, staring at him in disbelief.

He met my gaze without flinching.

“Or…” he continued, his voice tightening, “tell me the truth about my sister’s death, and I’ll drop everything.”

I turned slightly to glance at Arianne.

Then I took a deep breath. “You’ll find out eventually.”

A flicker of hope lit his eyes.

“But not now.”

My shoulders stiffened. His face darkened, eyes burning red.

“What’s your relationship with that murderer? You’d rather go to prison than turn him in?”

“I’ve told you already, Alaric. I have nothing to do with him.”

He was trembling with rage now, so furious he could barely form words.

He ground his teeth and nodded slowly.

“You really think I won’t sue you?”

I didn’t reply.

He shoved me aside and stormed out.

Three days later, I received a court summons.

When I pleaded guilty, Arianne arched a brow, clearly unsurprised—like she’d known it would end this way all along.

Only Alaric’s face was pale and terrifyingly grim.

He had hired one of the city’s top attorneys. The lawyer dissected every moment of the incident, stretched the legal jargon to its limits, and twisted my silence into malice.

In the end, they raised the sentence to eight years.

Alaric visited me in custody.

“If you testify for Seraphine,” he said, voice low, “I’ll find a way to get you out.”

I smiled faintly. “Alaric, take care.”

His breath hitched.

For a second, he looked like a broken man.

“You knew everything…” His voice cracked. “You were there that night. It was just you and that monster. You saw it all, didn’t you?”

I said nothing.

“I stayed quiet—I let it go, because I believed you.”

His fists clenched. “Back in school… Seraphine used to spend her lunch money just to make sure you had something to eat. Have you forgotten that?”

Tears welled in my eyes. I shook my head. “No. Never.”

“Then why?” he choked out. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why not then?”

“Not yet.”

“Do I have to die before you’ll finally tell me?”

I shook my head again, more firmly this time.

“It’s not him who dies,” I whispered. “It’s me.”

“The murderer will be convicted—without my testimony. But if I spoke now… I was afraid you’d lose your mind.”

I bowed my head.

If everything went as expected, the truth would come to light during my imprisonment.

But then, less than a month into my sentence, something changed.

The court abruptly overturned the verdict. I was acquitted.

When I stepped out of the gates, dazed and uncertain, a black Rolls-Royce waited at the curb.

Alaric stood beside it in silence.

Neither of us spoke during the entire ride home.

As I stepped out of the car, I turned back. “Thank you.”

He paused on the stairs, didn’t look back.

“Elysia,” he said coldly, “you’re such a jerk.”

I smiled.

And the tears fell.

Arianne’s child had survived.

But Alaric never brought her home again. Nor did he flaunt their affair in front of me anymore.

We lived under the same roof, yet moved like strangers in parallel lives.

When we crossed paths in the hallway, he didn’t speak. Didn’t even look at me.

He refused to eat anything I cooked.

I didn’t complain. I simply went on with my quiet routines.

A full month passed like that.

Then one night, there was a knock at my door.

When I opened it, he stood there—reeking of alcohol, eyes bloodshot.

“Let’s talk,” he said, voice hoarse.

I stepped aside, letting him in. For the first time in a long while, we sat together calmly, without pretense.

“Please,” he said, his voice almost a whisper. “I’m begging you. Testify for Seraphine.”

He swallowed hard.

“If you do… I’ll have Arianne abort the child. I’ll give you everything—my fortune, my company. Anything.”

I shook my head. “No need.”

“Who is Caleb Dalton to you, anyway?” Alaric’s voice cracked slightly. Caleb—the man who killed Seraphine. I’d said it so many times before, but I repeated it calmly. “I have nothing to do with him.”

His bloodshot eyes burned into mine. “You expect me to believe that? You’d protect Seraphine’s murderer for someone you don’t even care about?”

I met his gaze. “Alaric, you’ll understand everything the day the child is born.”

“I can’t wait another day!” He shot to his feet, hands shaking. “If you don’t explain yourself clearly today, Elysia, I’ll end all ties with you.”

My heart clenched. He meant it. There was no hesitation in his eyes. I drew in a breath, then nodded. “Alright.”

We’d been through enough. I was done.

His hand trembled where it gripped my shoulder. “Say it again.”

“It’s okay if we break up,” I said.

He laughed bitterly, like he couldn’t believe it. “You think I’m joking?”

I said nothing.

He turned and slammed the door behind him. That night, the divorce agreement landed in front of me.

I picked up the pen to sign, but his hand caught my wrist. “Think it over before you sign.”

“I already have.”

I signed slowly, and though his grip remained firm, he too began writing. When it was done, he snatched the agreement like he couldn’t bear to see it. “I misjudged you.”

I closed my eyes.

That day, I was thrown out of the manor. With no savings, I rented a small, thirty-square-meter apartment and waited quietly for my trial. In my mind, I kept imagining Caleb being brought to justice on the day I died. My hands trembled with the thought. Only then, I thought, could I finally go see Seraphine in peace.

But that moment never came.

Before I could even prepare, Alaric’s bodyguards dragged me back. The first thing I saw was Arianne lying on the bed, soaked in blood. Her stomach, once swollen, had gone flat. Alaric looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept in days.

The moment he saw me, he slapped me across the face. “Didn’t you say it didn’t matter if the child was aborted? That it was acceptable either way? Then why did you send someone to beat her into a miscarriage?”

I was stunned.

Arianne sobbed, clutching the sheets. “Ely… if you didn’t want me to have the baby, I could’ve aborted it. But why torture my child like this?”

Her clothes were disheveled, the bed stained in blood. I understood what had likely caused the miscarriage.

Alaric kicked me in the knee and pinned me down. “I’ll find the thugs you hired and make them pay. But you—I’ll give you one last chance.”

He gripped my chin tightly. “If you’re willing to testify in court for Seraphine, I’ll have my legal team defend you. I can save you a few years in prison.”

Pain shot through my jaw, and cold sweat trickled down my back. “I… I’m afraid I can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m dying.”

He let out a sharp laugh, disbelieving and furious. “You’re still protecting Caleb? Even now?”

He stood and shouted, “I won’t give you another chance. Whether you want to or not—you will testify!”

After those words, he seized my hand—and without hesitation, snapped my ring finger.

The wedding band was still on it.

A guttural scream tore from my throat.

“Will you tell me now?” he growled.

His fingers clamped around my chin, forcing my gaze up to meet his. “What did Caleb do to my sister that night?”

Sweat poured down my back. My breath came in shallow gasps.

“Wait until I’m dead,” I whispered, “and you’ll find out.”

His eyes turned a violent shade of red.

To him, I must’ve sounded defiant. Insulting.

“You think I’m afraid to watch you die?” he spat.

Then my index finger cracked under his grip.

“Will you talk?”

“Kill me,” I hissed through my tears. “Kill me—and you’ll finally know.”

His whole body trembled with fury. And then, he nodded. “Fine. I’ll grant your wish.”

He pulled out a wrench.

Held it up—aimed straight at my other fingers.

“No—Alaric, wait—AAAH!”

The pain was unbearable, but worse was the searing agony in my chest.

I collapsed onto the floor, trembling, lips turning purple.

The wrench shook slightly in his hand.

“If I destroy you,” he muttered, almost to himself, “then I’ll go to prison with you.”

Blood pooled in my mouth. I coughed, then reached up with what little strength I had, fingers trembling as I tore open the buttons on my shirt.

“You want the truth?” I choked out. “Then I’ll show you.”

The moment he saw the scar carved over my heart, the wrench slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.