Innocent Elara

I have been sitting by his bedside for days. He has not improved, and just when I think he has, things suddenly go sideways. I have been trying to reach my father’s office for days to find out how the business is doing, yet to my surprise my stepmother denied me access to both the building and the business. With Dad in the hospital, I have been sleeping by his bedside, hoping and praying for a small miracle. I felt my eyes slowly shutting, yet the moment I heard the doctor speaking, I was wide awake. I looked up with a smile, only to be met by worried eyes. “Is everything alright, doctor? Is my father alright?” were the only words I could honestly utter in that moment. The doctor placed his hand on my shoulder, advising me that everything was fine with him—but that there was an issue with something else. “Thank heavens! If my father is alright, then why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” I asked. “Can we talk outside, somewhere more private?” he asked, gesturing toward the door. Once we were alone, I focused all my attention on the doctor, who seemed unsettled. “Doctor?” “Elara, I’ve been with your family for years—even with your mother and—” “Is he dying?” I interrupted, dread flooding my chest. “Your father needs to stay in a private hospital where I can continue to care for him. Right now, I am the most qualified to look after him, and moving—” “Moving? What are you talking about, doctor?” I asked, completely confused. “Elara, the bills haven’t been paid. That means we will no longer be able to keep him here,” he said sadly. “That’s impossible. My father has billions. There’s no way he could be bankrupt from medical bills in just a week!” I insisted. He gave me a sad smile, already knowing what was coming. “Audrey stopped paying your father’s bills. I thought she spoke to you about it?” “No. Why would she? I’m just the stepchild, right?” I said bitterly. “Look, I can stall for a few more days, but you need a plan,” he said gently, patting my shoulder. “How much does he owe?” I asked, a lump forming in my throat. “Over two hundred and fifty thousand, Elara.” Where am I supposed to get that kind of money? I don’t have a job—and the one I had, I was fired from weeks ago. I gave the doctor a weak smile and told him I would have the funds by the end of the week. I immediately called my father’s financial administrator. “I’m sorry, Miss Rose. Audrey is in full control of his finances. Your father signed paperwork stating that if he became ill, all funds would be placed in his wife’s hands. There’s nothing we can do.” “My father might die, and all you’re telling me is that there’s nothing you can do?” I screamed, earning shocked looks from nearby nurses. I ended the call before I completely lost my mind. I needed to see her. She must love him. This is her responsibility. Yet who am I kidding? I’ve been by his bedside this entire time while she’s probably spending every cent meant for him. I kissed my father’s cheek and left the hospital, heading straight to the witch’s house. The drive brought back every cruel thing she and her precious daughter had put me through. After losing my mother in a car accident years ago, my father remarried—and no one welcomed the new Mrs. Rose. People cut ties with our family, and her daughter, Rory, took on our surname as if she’d earned it. I thought losing my mother was the worst pain imaginable—but I was wrong. The moment they stepped into our lives, everything became a complete mess. I fought at every corner just to survive that witch of a stepmother and her daughter. Call me stupid, but I hadn’t seen my father smile like that in years. Somehow, he had grown more fond of his stepchild than of his own blood. He stopped inviting me along, stopped preparing me for the company—even though I was next in line to inherit it. I parked and walked toward the front door, using my father’s house keys. Deep down, I knew this would cost me—but I couldn’t let him die. Before I could fully step inside, the butler greeted me. He hugged me tightly, telling me how good it was to see me. I forced a smile and asked where Audrey was. “In the living room. She has guests over, Lady Rose.” “She always does, Alfred,” I muttered, walking past him. She was dining with a group of women. The moment they noticed me, the room felt colder. "So my father is fighting for his life while you’re wining and dining?” I snapped, unable to stop myself. Audrey didn’t flinch. She didn’t look embarrassed. She didn’t even look surprised. She simply lifted her glass, took a slow sip, and smiled at her guests. “Please excuse me for a moment,” she said calmly, as if I were nothing more than an interruption. She rose with practiced grace and leaned closer to me, her voice dropping. “Let’s not embarrass ourselves out here.” “Why?” I scoffed. “Afraid they’ll see what kind of woman you really are?” Her smile never faded—but her eyes hardened. She gripped my arm, nails digging into my skin, and dragged me toward the study without another word. She closed the door behind us and straightened her blouse, unbothered, unshaken. “What do you want?” she asked flatly. “You’re trespassing. I could have you removed.” “I used my father’s key.” She tilted her head, unimpressed. “Your father’s. Not yours. You’ve been banned from this house, Elara. Try to remember your place.” I swallowed my anger. “Why haven’t his hospital bills been paid? They’re threatening to move him.” She walked past me, opened a drawer, and pulled out her laptop. “Which would most likely kill him,” she said coolly, as if discussing the weather. I stared at her in disbelief. “The bill is two hundred and fifty thousand,” she continued. “And before you ask—yes, I have the money. I’m simply choosing not to use it.” “You’re his wife,” I whispered. “He might die.” She finally looked at me then, eyes sharp and empty. “People die every day, Elara.” “What do you want?” I asked, my voice breaking. She turned the laptop toward me, then slowly placed a hotel room key on the desk between us. “I want you to be useful for once.” I froze. “One night,” she said calmly. “With a man I choose. Do that, and I’ll pay the hospital. Refuse—and your father gets moved.” She leaned closer, her smile razor-thin. “Choose wisely. I don’t negotiate twice.”