Chapter 3 His Fiancée
1397 Words
I struggled to support myself, my limbs trembling with weakness.
The woman standing beside Ellentt and Alice gave me a once-over, her plump face twisting with disdain.
She sneered, her voice dripping with mockery, "Oh, so it's you. The little homewrecker trying to steal someone else's fiancé."
"I didn't..."
My head snapped up as I met her gaze, only to realize that everyone in the room had turned to look at me.
Biting down on the pain, I forced myself to stand, inch by inch.
But I'd forgotten about the shards of glass scattered across the floor, one drove deep into my palm, sending a sharp jolt of pain shooting through me.
My knees buckled, and I hit the ground again—hard. Not a single person stepped forward to help.
"Miss, are you alright? Why isn't anyone helping you?" Alice's gentle voice rang out, full of concern. But the sight of her nestled in Ellentt's arms made my chest tighten with something far worse than pain.
I took a good look at Alice. She was stunning—delicate and angelic, as if she'd been sculpted by the gods themselves.
Her golden hair shimmered in the light streaming through the window, like a halo placed upon a saint.
She looked like someone who had been protected all her life, untouched by hardship. And when she looked at me, there wasn't a trace of malice in her eyes.
Ellentt's icy blue gaze flickered toward me, void of emotion. Then, without so much as a second glance, he tightened his grip around Alice and stepped past the mess on the floor.
"Don't concern yourself with just anyone," he said flatly.
His words struck like a blade to the chest.
To him, I was just anyone. Nothing. Insignificant.
That was why he could be so indifferent.
I tore my gaze away, unwilling to watch how tenderly he held Alice, how effortlessly he shielded her from harm.
I was afraid my heart would shatter right then and there.
"But darling, she looks like she really needs help. She's covered in blood, and the glass is still in her skin..." Alice pleaded, tugging gently at his sleeve in that soft, irresistible way of hers.
"She brought it on herself. Maybe this is karma—God's way of punishing her for trying to steal someone else's fiancé," the woman beside her, Nicole Kidd, scoffed.
She shot me a contemptuous glance and added, "Or maybe Aurora's just putting on a show, hoping Ellentt will feel sorry for her."
I clenched my fists.
Yes, I loved Ellentt, but I would never stoop so low as to hurt myself just to win his pity. That wasn't me.
And I knew, from beginning to end, that his heart had always belonged to his first love.
"I didn't," I said, forcing the words out. My voice wavered, not from pain, but from sheer humiliation.
Ellentt—heir to an empire worth billions, a man who controlled the nation's economy—stood beside Alice, the woman he had adored for five years. She was a renowned star on the grand stage, a socialite from an elite family.
They were the perfect couple. A destined match.
And me?
I was just an ordinary girl trying to carve out a place in this world. A nobody.
Ellentt's cold indifference stung more than anything.
Gone was the man who once spared me a few words of concern. The contrast was stark, like night and day.
I couldn't stand it. I couldn't stand him.
I didn't expect him to help me, not anymore.
Back then, when I had a fever, he had casually asked if I was feeling better. I had been foolish enough to mistake it for genuine care, clinging to those few words for days, wishing I could stay sick just a little longer—just so I could keep feeling noticed by him.
But after seeing the way he treated Alice, I finally understood.
I had been so, so stupid.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to stand, pushing past the searing pain. I just wanted to get the hell out of here.
"She looks really hurt. Please help her," Alice said softly, turning to one of the hospital staff.
I steadied myself, my breath catching in my throat.
Was Alice... genuinely concerned?
Our eyes met, and I mustered a shaky smile before shaking my head. "I'm fine. Thank you, Ms. Miller."
Alice hesitated, then smiled back—soft, sweet, perfect. She turned to Nicole.
"Nicole, she seems polite. She doesn't strike me as the type to steal someone's fiancé."
Did I imagine it, or did she put extra weight on the words steal someone's fiancé?
Nicole scowled, looping her arm through Alice's. "Alice, you're too soft. Just because someone acts nice to you doesn't mean they are nice. You'll get walked all over one day."
Then, she shot me a venomous glare. "Aurora? She's just a pathetic gold-digging tramp!"
I turned to Ellentt, searching for even a flicker of reaction. But his expression remained unreadable. He just stood there, watching it all unfold, doing nothing.
Of course.
Why would he defend me?
I was nothing to him now.
Swallowing the bitterness rising in my throat, I inhaled deeply, then said, "Ms. Kidd, mind your words. I have never tried to take anyone's fiancé, and I never will."
Nicole let out an incredulous snort. "You? A nobody like you thinking you could be a princess?"
I met her gaze head-on. "If I'm so lowly, then what does that make you, Ms. Kidd, for stooping down just to insult me?"
The realization hit me like a slap—I had been so caught up in Ellentt that I hadn't even thought about holding Nicole accountable for shoving me down in the first place.
I straightened. "You pushed me, Nicole Kidd. Shouldn't you apologize?"
Nicole's face darkened. "And what if I did? Consider yourself lucky. I was just doing the Lord's work!"
I let out a sharp laugh, my voice carrying through the room. "Apologize!"
Nicole flinched. For a second, she looked startled. Then, just as quickly, she scowled.
Before she could snap at me again, Alice stepped in, her expression troubled. "Nicole, you did bump into her. Why don't I apologize for you? Let's just end this here."
Nicole shook her head, clicking her tongue in frustration. "Alice, she's just after money. Broke girls like her can't survive without it. Why should I apologize?"
She wasn't wrong about one thing—I was poor. If I didn't work hard, I wouldn't survive.
But even if I had nothing, I would never stoop to begging.
What I wanted wasn't money.
It was dignity.
"Apologize," I said, my voice firm. "For what you did. For what you said."
Ellentt liked soft, gentle women. Women who weren't greedy for money or power.
Alice didn't need those things—she was born into wealth. But I did, because I had nothing.
And for the first time in front of him, I bared my fangs.
A wounded wolf, still standing, still fighting.
Nicole rolled her eyes and pulled out a wad of cash, shoving it into my face so hard it stung. "Here. Take this. Quit pretending you don't want it."
I didn't even flinch. I lifted my head and looked her dead in the eye.
"I don't want your dirty money," I said, my voice steady. "I want an apology."
Nicole's face twisted with fury. "You little—"
Before she could finish, Alice suddenly clutched her stomach, wincing. She looked up at me, her face apologetic.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Harper," she murmured. "Please forgive her. My friend didn't mean it. Don't let it get to you. I'll apologize on her behalf, alright? It's my fault. She only bumped into you because she was looking out for me. I'm sorry."
I stared at her.
A single "sorry." A single "she didn't mean it." And that was supposed to erase everything Nicole had just done?
I had thought Alice was kind.
Now, I saw her for what she truly was.
And Ellentt?
He had been silent the whole time. Watching. Allowing it all to happen.
My heart turned to ice.
Five years by his side, loyal and subservient, never daring to defy his wishes, always putting him first, and in the end—
I was nothing!
- Writer
