2

'In his dreams!'

Without a word, I hung up on him.

For the first time in my life, I was the one to hang up first.

But my heart wouldn't stop aching. The pain was so intense that not even the king-size bed in this five-star, $800-a-night hotel room could soothe it.

Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes, soaking the pillow. I looked up at the lavish ceiling and silently made myself a promise. 'This is the last time I'll ever cry for Stellan Lancaster.'

Maybe it was the pregnancy making me sleep more, but after I cried myself out, I ended up sleeping for the entire day. It wasn't until five in the afternoon that hunger finally woke me.

When I woke up, I saw I had over a dozen missed calls.

'Could it be from Stellan Lancaster?'

I unlocked my phone to check, only to find they were from Holden Lancaster, Stellan Lancaster's younger brother.

I gave a self-deprecating laugh. 'I really overestimated my place in Stellan Lancaster's heart. As if he would ever call me more than ten times.'

RING! My phone rang again. It was still Holden Lancaster calling.

"Elara Everhart, where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you all afternoon and couldn't find you," Holden Lancaster yelled the moment I answered.

'But I just saw that all thirteen calls came within the last ten minutes,' I thought. 'How could he have been looking for me all afternoon?'

'Stellan Lancaster probably told him to look for me this morning, and he's only just now remembering to do it.'

'So now he's in a panic, bombarding me with calls.'

He had absolutely no respect for me, his sister-in-law.

In fact, the group photo I saw on my feed this morning was posted by Holden Lancaster himself.

"Don't bother looking for me. I've already signed the divorce papers. Just make sure you tell your brother to sign them." When I was with Stellan Lancaster, I'd spared no effort trying to please everyone around him.

Especially with his good-for-nothing, hot-tempered brother, Holden Lancaster. I always spoke to him gently, never arguing, and would even point out his rare good qualities to praise him in front of the Lancasters.

But for some reason, he was always deeply hostile toward me and never showed me a shred of kindness.

"You've been threatening to get a divorce for ages. If you actually leave my brother, I'll be your damn dog!" Holden Lancaster sneered, sounding even more convinced than Stellan Lancaster that I was just bluffing.

On my end of the line, I silently rolled my eyes and said coldly, "Even dogs would find you disgusting, Holden Lancaster. Go be some other animal; don't bring shame on their kind."

With that, I hung up on him and, while I was at it, blocked the contact information for every single member of the Lancaster family.

However, my jab at Holden Lancaster sent him into a rage. He went straight to a group chat we shared with many mutual friends and blabbed about my divorce from Stellan Lancaster.

Holden Lancaster: [Elara Everhart's making a scene about divorcing my brother again.]

Holden Lancaster: [I told her she could never leave my brother, that I'd be her dog if she did, and she cursed me out, saying even dogs would find me disgusting!]

Holden Lancaster: [I'll be the bookie. Taking bets now. I say she comes crawling back to our house in less than three days.]

: Pregnant?

3

The group chat lit up over his message, and everyone started placing bets on when I would go back to Stellan Lancaster.

Some bet it would be a week, others half a month, and some a full month. The stakes were a series of luxury cars, priceless bottles of wine, or a six-figure sum in cash.

I silently watched as the chat flooded with messages. Someone even asked me directly, telling me to give them a timeframe so they could place a better bet.

I knew most of the people in the group, but only because of Stellan Lancaster.

Every last one of them was a scion of Aethelburg's rich and powerful elite.

This pack of playboy heirs had no concept of respect. Or perhaps, it was just me, Elara Everhart, that they didn't respect.

I wasn't from Aethelburg. I'd only come here for university, where I fell in love with Stellan Lancaster, and I only stayed after we got married.

In Aethelburg, the Lancasters were one of the most prominent families. But thanks to Stellan Lancaster's efforts, they had become number one by a landslide in recent years, making them the richest family in the city.

Yet, as his wife, I could never quite fit into the high-society circle that revolved around the Lancasters. I was always an outsider.

Now, I was finally on the inside, but only as the butt of their jokes.

I was serious about leaving Stellan Lancaster. Instead of arguing in the group chat, I simply left it. Then, one by one, I deleted all of their contacts. I discarded them all, just like taking out the trash.

When I was finished, the only people left on my contact list were good friends from before college and a handful of acquaintances from Aethelburg.

'Seven years in Aethelburg, and I'd wasted them all. Apart from a diploma, I had nothing to show for it.'

I married Stellan Lancaster right after graduation. The Lancasters didn't like their daughter-in-law to be in the public eye, wanting me to stay home to be a wife and mother, so I never got a job. I'd even thought it was a blessing that Stellan Lancaster let me be a freeloader.

But now, free from Stellan Lancaster, I was only just realizing that I didn't have a social circle of my own.

None of this affected my appetite, though. I ordered a Michelin-starred dinner from the hotel and ate until my stomach was round and full. With nothing better to do, I went for a walk in a nearby park, slowly rubbing my belly with one hand and supporting my lower back with the other.

I didn't expect to run into them, but as fate would have it, I came across Serena Shaw and Stellan Lancaster.

The two of them were strolling shoulder to shoulder along a park path, laughing and talking. The handsome man and the beautiful woman made for a perfect picture.

"Oh! Ellie? Long time no see!" Serena Shaw spotted me in surprise as she turned to speak to Stellan Lancaster, and she waved enthusiastically.

As she spoke, her eyes scanned me from head to toe, as if sizing me up. After a moment, a smile spread across her face. "You've gained a little weight," she said. "Your face is fuller. So cute."

If she had called me fat before, I would have been absolutely mortified.

Compared to Serena Shaw, with her perfectly toned ballerina's body, I felt like a telephone pole. I wouldn't call myself fat, but I was definitely a little soft around the edges.

But now, I didn't care. 'If I don't eat more,' I thought, 'my baby will starve.'

When I didn't answer, Serena Shaw let out a soft laugh. She pointed a finger at the way I was holding my stomach and back. "Ellie," she said, her tone probing, "are you... pregnant?"

: Bloated

4

I just ate too much.

I really am pregnant, but I'm only one month along, so it doesn't show.

But before I could say anything, Stellan Lancaster frowned and denied it for me. "She just ate too much. She isn't pregnant."

His words left me stunned.

'Didn't I already send him a message telling him I was pregnant?'

He looked so unconcerned, as if he had no idea what I was talking about.

'It's fine, though. We're getting a divorce anyway. I'll just consider the baby mine alone.'

"Yes, I just ate too much. I'm not pregnant." I nodded, repeating Stellan Lancaster's words. Then, I waved a hand at them. "Excuse me, could you please move? I'm going for a walk."

The park path wasn't narrow, but the two of them were standing right in front of me, blocking my way.

'If they want to be all lovey-dovey here, fine, but why do they have to drag me along to stand here like an idiot?'

"Oh? You're going for a walk all by yourself?" Serena Shaw covered her mouth in surprise, but she didn't move an inch.

'My own husband is standing right beside her. If I don't walk by myself, what else am I supposed to do?'

"Why don't we walk with you?" Serena Shaw added.

She lumped Stellan Lancaster in with herself, referring to the two of them as "we."

But Stellan Lancaster and I were the ones who were actually married.

'What a master at being two-faced.'

"No, thanks. I'd rather not be your third wheel. You two take your time. The Vienna International Hotel is just a little ways ahead, very convenient for you."

Whenever Serena Shaw subtly—or not so subtly—showed off how special her relationship with Stellan Lancaster was, I always just swallowed my frustration and took the loss.

I'm not stupid. I knew that if I argued or questioned them, I'd just be seen as a jealous wife, pushing Stellan Lancaster even further away.

But now, I didn't want this man anymore. Serena Shaw's words couldn't stir the slightest ripple in my heart.

I expressed my thoughts bluntly and even kindly pointed them in the right direction for their next step.

Even so, Stellan Lancaster was still displeased with me. His face darkened as he said coldly, "Elara Everhart, I came here to take you home. I just ran into Serena on the way. She was concerned about you, and in return, you get suspicious. Don't take it too far."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Every word out of Stellan Lancaster's mouth hit a nerve, and I couldn't stop myself from retorting with a cold laugh.

He used my full name, but called her "Serena." Anyone could tell he was closer to her.

'Her "concern" was just an act for Stellan Lancaster's benefit, and he completely bought it.'

'Serena Shaw and I have only met a few times, and we're romantic rivals. Why on earth would she care about me, and how could her concern possibly be genuine?'

"Elara Everhart!" A flicker of anger appeared in Stellan Lancaster's indifferent eyes. He was clearly displeased that his usually docile wife had suddenly lashed out at him.

Whenever he used my full name like that, I would nervously apologize and reflect on what I'd done wrong.

It was happening again now. My muscles tensed up reflexively. Damn this muscle memory!