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.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a hospital room.

The room was silent—not a single soul in sight.

I could faintly hear Damien’s voice from the next room.

Clutching my wound, I staggered to the doorway and stopped outside the slightly open door.

On the bed inside, Vivian’s face was pale. Her wrist was thickly bandaged.

The room was crowded with doctors Damien had called in. They circled around her, checking her vitals and murmuring instructions.

Damien sat at her bedside, holding her hand tightly. His voice was gentle as he comforted her.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s all over now. The baby is fine too.”

Their hands were so intimately intertwined that it felt like there was no space for a third person.

A sharp pain bloomed in my chest. I couldn’t bear to watch another second.

So this is what it feels like when a heart shatters so completely—it actually hurts to breathe.

I pushed through the pain, ignoring the nurses who tried to stop me, and went straight to the desk to sign my discharge papers.

When I got home, I resumed packing. I tossed out everything I no longer needed, keeping only my passport, a few important documents, and a handful of clothes.

I left everything else behind. The expensive gifts Damien had given me over the years—I didn’t touch a single one.

On the nightstand, there was still a photo of us together. I stared at it for a long moment before removing it from the frame. I tore away my half of the picture carefully, crumpled what remained, and threw it into the trash.

Once everything was done, I dragged my suitcase to the door and walked out of the villa without looking back.

That day happened to be the day my visa was ready. Finally, I could take my passport and leave this place that had brought me nothing but heartbreak.

The clerk handed me my documents with a warm smile.

“Miss Davies, congratulations. Have a pleasant journey!”

“Thank you.”

As I looked down at the freshly issued visa, a strange calm settled over me.

Before I left, I deleted every trace of myself. I canceled all my accounts and bought a one-way ticket.

I remembered how Damien had held my hand so tightly eight years ago and said, “Estelle, you’re mine. You’ll be by my side for the rest of your life.”

‘Damien, you were wrong.

‘There would be no place for you in my world for the rest of my life.’

Back at the hospital, after coaxing Vivian into taking her medicine and falling asleep, Damien finally remembered me.

He walked to the next room, only to find a nurse tidying up an empty bed. The bed where I had been lying was now stripped bare—cold and vacant.

A flicker of unease swept through him. He stopped the nurse and asked sharply,

“Where’s the patient who was in this room?”

The nurse gave him a strange look.

“Are you her family? She was discharged early this morning.”

“What?”

The unease in Damien’s chest flared into panic. He pulled out his phone and tried calling me, but the screen flashed that the user was busy.

When he tried to send me a message, it became painfully clear that I had blocked his number.

He shot to his feet, his expression dark and terrifying.

It was only then that he thought to call the villa’s butler.

“Where’s Madam? Is she at home? Get her on the line. Now!”

There was a pause as the butler moved away. When he returned, his voice was frantic.

“Mr. Jones, Madam is gone. The maids said they saw her leave with a suitcase. She took a cab and left the villa!”