Chapter 2

Elana Clements POV:

I made my excuses, my head throbbing, and hurried to my room. The grand house, usually filled with a stifling quiet, felt vast and empty tonight. My own small room, a temporary refuge, offered no comfort.

Just as I slid the lock into place, my phone buzzed. A message. From an unknown number. My heart twisted with a sick premonition. I opened it. A grainy photo filled the screen. Franco, his face etched with worry, cradling Katina in his arms. She was pale, her head resting on his shoulder. The caption beneath the photo was a cruel dagger: "Some people just know how to get what they want. Your fiancé chose his true love tonight. Again."

A hollow laugh escaped my lips. No surprise there. I already knew. This just confirmed it. Franco had abandoned our engagement party for Katina. This wasn't a business emergency. This was her.

A strange numbness settled over me. There was no more pain, just a dull ache where my heart used to be. I remembered a time when Franco would look at me like that, his small hand holding mine tightly as we stood on the precipice of childhood dreams. He' d promised me forever. That was a lifetime ago. He was someone else' s forever now. Someone else' s rock.

My nose started bleeding again. A gush, hot and heavy, staining my fingers a deep crimson. This wasn't just a trickle anymore. This was a torrent. Panic clawed at my throat. I stumbled towards the bathroom, fumbling for a tissue. Cold water splashed against my face, but the blood kept coming. I pressed toilet paper firmly against my nostrils, leaning over the sink, watching the water turn pink, then red. It felt like forever before it finally slowed, then stopped. My head pounded. My stomach churned.

A sharp knock on the door startled me. "Elana? Are you awake?" It was Ellsworth, his voice stern but with an underlying tremor.

I splashed more water on my face, trying to erase the evidence. "Yes, Father. Just resting." I wiped my mouth, tasting iron.

When I opened the door, Ellsworth stood there, his face grim. "Come down to the study. Now."

I followed him, my legs feeling like lead. The air was thick with tension. Franco was already there, standing stiffly before his father, his jaw clenched. Ellsworth' s eyes, usually so sharp, were narrowed to slits.

"Franco Mayer," Ellsworth boomed, his voice echoing through the silent room. "Kneel."

Franco's eyes widened in disbelief. "Father, no. I can't." His pride, always his strongest and weakest point, flared.

"Kneel," Ellsworth repeated, his voice dangerously low. "You disgraced this family tonight. You disgraced Elana."

Franco remained rigid, his back ramrod straight. He wouldn't bend. Not for anyone. Not even for his father. The stubbornness that defined him was on full display.

I watched, a strange weariness washing over me. This was all for me, this spectacle. But I didn't want it. I just wanted to disappear. Franco was searching for his true love. I was just in the way.

Ellsworth turned to me, his expression softening slightly. "Elana, go upstairs. You need your rest." His voice was gentle, a stark contrast to the thunder he' d just unleashed on his son.

I didn't argue. I didn't even look at Franco. My gaze was fixed on some distant point, anything to avoid the storm brewing in his eyes. I turned and left, the silence of the stairs a welcome relief.

I didn't hear what followed. The heavy oak door of my room muffled the angry words, the strained silence. I only knew that Franco didn't come to check on me.

I drifted off into a restless sleep, my body aching, my mind replaying the night's humiliations. When I woke, the room was dark save for a sliver of moonlight. A figure stood by the window, silhouetted against the pane. Franco.

My breath hitched. He looked... haunted. His face was obscured by shadows, but I could feel the intensity of his gaze. For a fleeting moment, I remembered the boy who used to sneak into my room after a bad dream, his warm hand reaching for mine. That boy was long gone.

"You told him, didn't you?" His voice was low, dangerous. "You ran to my father, just like always."

I tried to sit up, my head swimming. "No, Franco, I didn't. I swear." Panic rose in my throat.

He took a step closer. "Don't lie to me, Elana. He knew about Katina. About the hospital. How else would he know?" His accusation hung heavy in the air.

"I didn't say anything," I whispered, my voice hoarse. My throat felt raw.

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't," he sneered, sarcasm dripping from every word. "You just stood there, playing the poor, wronged fiancée, letting my father do your dirty work. Typical. Can't even fight your own battles." He gestured wildly with his hand. "Katina is sick, Elana. She's delicate. And you're here making a scene, accusing me, making me feel guilty. Don't you have any shame?"

My blood ran cold. He had already convicted me. There was no defense. No appeal. He saw what he wanted to see. I was the villain, the obstacle, the source of all his problems. The truth, my truth, didn't matter.

A sudden wave of nausea hit me. My stomach convulsed. I barely made it to the bathroom, clutching my mouth, and retched into the toilet, my body shaking with dry heaves.

I heard the door slam shut, a deafening sound that vibrated through the quiet house. He was gone. Again.

I pushed myself up, my knees weak, and looked into the mirror. My face was pale, my eyes sunken. A ghost. I managed a bitter, twisted smile. How fitting.

My gaze fell to the corner of the room, to the loose floorboard under the bed. I knelt, my fingers fumbling with the latch, and pulled out a stack of papers. A medical report. The words blurred before my eyes, but I knew what they said. Leukemia.

I tucked it back, pushing it deep into the shadows. He would never find it. He would never know.