I returned to my bedroom feeling hollow and defeated. It was nothing more than a cramped space at the end of the second floor—right next to Damien’s.

I could still hear his voice in my head.

“The size of the room doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re close to me! This is just temporary. Once I finish renovating the wedding room, we’ll get married.”

Eight years had passed, and now the wedding room he’d once prepared so carefully no longer belonged to me.

I opened my suitcase, ready to pack my clothes, when the door suddenly burst open with a loud crash.

Vivian strutted in, her belly prominent, chin lifted as she scanned the room with disdain.

“So this is your bedroom? It’s even smaller than the bathroom in my suite. How pathetic. You’ve clung to my husband for eight years and still have no title. He even gave me the wedding room he promised you. What are you still hanging around for? Don’t you feel ashamed?”

Her voice dripped with mockery and triumph.

I shut the suitcase with a hard snap. My tone was ice-cold.

“You’re not welcome here. Get out.”

Vivian raised a brow, her voice laced with scorn.

“Did you forget? I’m the mistress of this villa now. Who are you to tell me to leave? Soon, my child will be the heir to the Jones family. You’re nothing but a shameless mistress. You’ll end up with nothing!”

My fists clenched at my sides, nails digging into my palms. Tears burned behind my eyes.

Each word hit like a slap across the face, leaving my cheeks flaming with humiliation.

I was about to reply when she suddenly staggered, letting out a sharp cry as she crumpled to the floor, clutching her belly.

“Help! My baby…”

Damien came rushing in, panic etched into every line of his face. He swept her into his arms.

Vivian wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing pitifully.

“I just… I just wanted to talk to Estelle. I-I must’ve said something wrong and upset her. I’m sorry… It’s all my fault…”

Damien’s eyes snapped to me, blazing with fury and bitter disappointment.

“Estelle, no matter what she said, you shouldn’t have touched her. She’s pregnant! How could you do this? You used to be kind. What have you become?”

His words froze my blood.

“I didn’t! I didn’t push her!”

Damien exploded.

“Still denying it?

“You and Vivian were the only ones here. If it wasn’t you, who was it? Do you think I’d believe she fell on her own? She treasures that baby more than her own life!”

I collapsed onto the bed, trembling, lips quivering.

“So… you don’t believe me…”

“How am I supposed to believe you?”

He yanked me off the bed and gently laid Vivian in my place, immediately pulling out his phone to call the family doctor.

“You better pray she and the baby are okay!”

The doctor arrived quickly and examined Vivian thoroughly.

“The situation isn’t too serious. She just needs to stay in bed and rest for a few days.”

Damien hung on to every word, bombarding the doctor with questions about her diet, recovery, and even light pregnancy exercises.

He scribbled everything down in a notebook, desperate not to miss a single detail.

When the doctor finally left, Damien personally walked him out of the house.

As soon as he was gone, Vivian reclined on the bed, glancing at me where I stood frozen in the corner.

With a satisfied smirk, she said, “Damien’s going to be such a good father, don’t you think?”

Then, almost as if speaking to herself, she added.

“It was worth drugging him to make him the father of my child.”

I turned on her in a flash, pointing at her stomach, my voice shaking with rage.

“What did you just say?! Are you telling me that baby isn’t even Damien’s? That you drugged him?! Y-You’re insane! How dare you?!”

Vivian clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing she’d let the truth slip, but the smirk returned just as quickly.

“What difference does it make that you know? Nothing’s going to change. Do yourself a favor… and walk away.”

My chest was heaving with rage, and even my finger trembled as I pointed at her.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell Damien the truth?”

Vivian showed no fear. She even smirked, deliberately provoking me.

“Do you really think he’ll believe you? After what just happened, no matter what you say, he’ll only think you’re trying to frame me!”

“I don’t believe that. We’ve been together eight years. How could that all be wiped out so easily by your schemes?”

“Oh, really? Then go ahead. Try it. See for yourself whether he believes you… or me.”

Then she suddenly burst into sobs.

“Estelle, I didn’t even want this baby, but if I abort it, I’ll never be able to have children again. Can’t you just take pity on me?”

She struggled as if trying to get out of bed—just as Damien appeared at the doorway.

His expression darkened the moment he saw her crying. He rushed in and gathered her into his arms.

“What are you doing? The doctor said you need bed rest. You can’t move around like this!”

Vivian shook her head. Tears streamed down her face as she looked up at him, pitiful and fragile.

“Damien, maybe I should just leave. Estelle doesn’t want this baby. She said so many cruel things. She even told me to get rid of it…”

Damien lifted his head. His eyes were full of fury as he turned toward me.

“Estelle, what are you doing now?”

I shook my head in panic and pointed at Vivian.

“Damien, don’t believe her. That baby’s not even yours...”

Vivian wailed and lunged toward the wall as if to slam her head against it.

“Damien, please! Just let me die! After being talked to like that, how can I go on? I’m your legal wife, and yet she says those things just to humiliate me…”

Damien panicked and caught her, holding her tight in his arms.

“Calm down. I believe you. Please don’t get worked up. It’s bad for the baby.”

He comforted her softly, then turned to me with a cold, disappointed gaze.

“That’s enough, Estelle. Stop targeting Vivian. Whatever happened to her, it was my fault. Whether it was the drugging or the pregnancy, it was an accident. After she gives birth, I’ll send her and the child away. Then I’ll marry you.”

Vivian’s face faltered briefly but quickly recovered into a sorrowful expression.

“Estelle, I’ll leave once I’ve delivered. I’ll never fight you for the title of Madam. Please, just show me some mercy. I could never threaten your place in his heart.”

Damien frowned slightly.

“Estelle, please try to be kinder to Vivian for now. She’s pregnant. She can’t handle stress. Stop saying things like that. It’s nonsense.”

I stood there in a daze, feeling as though a blunt knife had been driven straight into my heart. The pain was sharp enough to take my breath away.

He didn’t believe me.

There was a time when he never doubted a word I said.

My face must have looked terrible, because his voice softened slightly.

“My promise to you still stands. I’m already planning the wedding. Let’s go to the bridal boutique tomorrow and pick out your dress, all right? I want you to be the most beautiful bride.”

“…All right.”

I lowered my head. My fingers trembled as I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes.

I’d be gone in a few days.

I would never see the wedding Damien was preparing.

Since he chose to believe a lie over the truth I told with my lips…

Then let him stay lost in those beautiful lies.

The next day, right on time, I stood at the entrance of the villa as Damien stepped out, carefully supporting Vivian as though she were something fragile.

A flicker of guilt flashed across his face when he saw me.

“Estelle, Vivian has never worn a wedding dress in her life. She just wants to tag along and take a look. Don’t worry, she won’t get in the way.”

I nodded without saying a word.

Damien kept one hand protectively behind her back like she was made of glass.

“Watch your step.”

“The sun’s strong. Put your hat on.”

“Walk slowly, don’t tire yourself out.”

Each word of concern felt like a dull knife, slicing me over and over again.

Even after we got in the car, Damien would not stop fussing over her the entire ride.

“Don’t wander off. You need to do exactly as I say, even at the bridal boutique.”

When we arrived at the store, he told the staff to bring out the wedding dresses for me to choose from. However, he hovered anxiously by Vivian’s side.

“These dresses are heavy. Just look. Don’t actually try them on. It’ll exhaust you.”

“No! I want to wear one. I didn’t even get to wear a wedding dress when we got our marriage license. Can’t I at least try one now?”

She pointed to the gown I had just picked out and asked in a sweet tone,

“That one in Estelle’s hand looks so pretty. Can I try it on?”

Damien put on a helpless look and turned to me.

“Estelle, let her try it on, okay? Just this once. Please, let her go first.”

I handed the gown to Vivian without a word. There was no protest and no reaction.

‘Damien, I wanted to spend our final moments alone, to show you the wedding dress I had chosen.

‘Now, you even took that chance away from me.

‘Since you did not know how to treasure it, I could only hope that you would not regret the choice you made today when I was gone.’

He even asked me to go with Vivian to the fitting room and still was not done giving instructions.

“Don’t let her bend over. Her body’s too heavy now. Be careful with the train of the dress. Don’t let her trip...”

I listened in silence, swallowing the bitterness in my chest.

Vivian was right. Damien would make a good father.

I helped her into the wedding dress with great effort. She gave me a smug look. Suddenly, she grabbed the front row of mannequins, each over six feet tall, and yanked them down.

She staggered back just enough to dodge the first falling mannequin, then screamed as they crashed down.

“Help! My baby…”

Damien flew across the boutique and swept her into his arms, diving to shield her.

Nevertheless, I was hit squarely in the leg by the first mannequin and watched, wide-eyed, as the rest came toppling toward me.

“Damien! Help me!”

My voice was drowned out by the chaos of crashing figures.

I saw him carrying Vivian, running for the door without even turning back.

Half my body was pinned under the heavy mannequins. Pain throbbed through my ribs and arm.

Still, it was nothing compared to the pain of my heart shattering into pieces.

I curled up on the floor, slowly closed my eyes, and let the tears fall freely down my face.