Chapter 2
799 Words
"That lady clearly only had a cold. She did not need to be hospitalized at all..."
I watched, almost as if I were torturing myself, as Elijah stayed by that mother and daughter's side. The three of them looked like a close, loving family.
"Mom, I was useless, but I will not do anything foolish again."
In the hospital room, I held my mother's icy hand.
I thought of the envelope Molly had left for me.
Inside it was a divorce agreement protecting my rights, and it already bore Elijah's signature.
I took it out of my bag and signed my name.
After confirming the details of the abortion at the hospital, I returned home, only to find that the villa had completely changed.
"This was a gift from Miss Vickers to Mr. Jagger, so be careful with it. Do not damage it."
The first time Elijah cheated on me, I had already understood.
He had promised me that those women would come quietly and leave quietly.
He had also promised that he would never leave any trace of them in the house.
Gradually, I got used to waking up and living by my own routine.
Aside from those white bedsheets hanging out to dry, the house really looked as though no one had ever come.
Thea was the only woman who had crossed Elijah's bottom line.
The noise of things being moved was unbearably harsh. Even with the door shut tight, I could still hear it all clearly.
It was not until the middle of the night that I was jolted awake by that familiar embrace.
"Still angry?"
When he saw that I did not answer, he let out a helpless little laugh.
"I thought that when you married me, you had already prepared yourself for this. I did not expect such a small thing to make you react this strongly."
He said the cruelest things in the most self-righteous tone.
Five years ago, everyone said Elijah was obsessed with taking young girls' first time.
But when I thought of the sincerity in his eyes when he proposed to me, I had not believed it then.
It was not until after my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage, when I waited five hours and still never got a return call from him, that I learned the truth.
I had hemorrhaged during a difficult labor and stayed in the hospital for three days and three nights.
Only later did I find out that at the time, he had fought someone until both of them were bloodied just to get a young girl's first time, and in the end, the police had even gotten involved.
That young girl was Thea.
I understood more and more clearly.
In his eyes, I was nothing but a troublesome burden.
But from now on, that would never be the case again.
I pulled my thoughts back and slipped out of his arms.
To my surprise, Elijah suddenly grabbed my chin, his face full of displeasure.
"Are you really expecting me to coax you over and over again? Thea would never be as willful as you. You are insecure to the core, and that is why you are so sensitive, right? If you keep this up, I will only feel more and more that Thea is better suited than you to stay by my side."
I had long known that marrying into a wealthy family would end like this.
Even so, my heart still clenched sharply.
Holding back my tears, I forced myself to sound strong as I said, "You will get what you want."
The violent slam of the door behind him struck hard against my heart.
On the television, footage of Elijah attending one banquet after another with Thea kept playing on repeat.
At an auction, he had even called out the highest bid on the spot and bought back the cheap jewelry I had once sold for Thea.
He also publicly announced that my bank cards were being cut off and had Thea appear as Mrs. Jagger for an entire day.
Elijah was making such a grand show of provoking me.
He wanted me to understand that without everything he had given me, I was nothing more than a girl from the slums who ate at roadside stalls after work.
On camera, Elijah took out his phone.
At the same moment, I received a message: Do you regret what you said?
I ignored him, but then I watched as an anonymous account kept transferring money to me: I will support you and the baby from now on.
Early the next morning, a burst of lively laughter and conversation suddenly drifted up from downstairs.
In the seat at the center of the sofa, Thea was dressed in a magnificent gown, gently holding Elijah's arm.
- Writer
