Kelsey Reyes POV:

Elias didn't come home that night. I knew he wouldn't. After seeing those pictures and my complete indifference, he probably ran to Dayami for comfort.

The next morning, I was downstairs with my parents, waiting to leave for the appointment. The front door swung open.

Elias walked in, looking disheveled, with Dayami by his side. He was holding a bag of takeout coffee and pastries.

"Good morning, Kelsey!" he chirped, trying to sound cheerful. "I brought breakfast! I thought we could have a nice morning together."

Dayami squeezed his arm. "Yes, Elias was so worried about you, Kelsey! He insisted we get you something nice."

My parents glared at them. My father' s jaw was tight. My mother' s eyes were narrowed.

I just watched Elias. He had a faint scent of Dayami' s perfume clinging to him, stronger than before.

"Worried, were you?" I asked, my voice flat. "That's why you spent the night comforting your 'little sister' instead of coming home?"

Elias flushed. "Kelsey, it's not what you think! Dayami had a crisis. She needed me!"

Dayami nodded vigorously. "I did, Kelsey! It was a really scary night. But Elias was there for me. He' s such a good guy."

"A good guy," I repeated, a hollow laugh escaping my lips. "Right."

Elias placed the bag on the counter. "See? I even brought your favorite pastry. And I was thinking… maybe we could take that trip, just the two of us. To Paris. Like we always talked about."

My stomach churned. Paris. That was always our dream. A romantic getaway we'd planned for years. He always said he was too busy.

Now, he was offering it.

I remembered finding a picture on Dayami's social media, just a few days ago. Her, in front of the Eiffel Tower, sipping champagne. With a caption that read: "Finally living out my Parisian dream. Thanks, Elias."

He had gone to Paris. With her. He was just offering me a recycled fantasy.

And the perfume. It was stronger now. A sickly sweet scent.

"No, thank you, Elias," I said, pushing the pastries away. "I' m not interested in Paris anymore. And I'm certainly not interested in your recycled dreams."

He flinched. "Recycled? Kelsey, what are you talking about?"

Dayami stepped forward, her eyes wide with feigned concern. "Kelsey, you seem so… distant lately. What have you been up to?"

My gaze sharpened. How did she know I was "distant"? Unless Elias had been telling her everything.

"Why, Dayami," I said, a dangerous edge to my voice. "Are you tracking my every move now? Or is Elias giving you daily updates?"

Dayami gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, no! Elias, she thinks I'm spying on her! I just… I heard you two talking about her being busy, and I was just concerned!"

She turned to Elias, her eyes brimming with fake tears. "She thinks I'm a bad person, Elias! She thinks I'm trying to hurt her!"

Elias exploded. "Kelsey! What the hell is wrong with you?! Dayami is worried about you! And you accuse her of spying?!"

He grabbed a vase from the table, a beautiful ceramic piece my mother had given us, and hurled it against the wall. It shattered into a million pieces.

"You're unbelievable! You're selfish! You don't care about anyone but yourself!" he roared, pointing a trembling finger at me. "You' re out sleeping around, probably, and ignoring your own child, and then you try to blame Dayami?!"

I stood there, unflinching. His words were just noise now.

Dayami, seeing her cue, rushed to Elias's side. "Elias, darling, calm down! She's not worth it. Don't let her upset you."

"She's not worth it?" I repeated, my voice dangerously soft. "Oh, I'm not worth it? What about my mother, Dayami? Is she 'not worth it' either?" I knew she' d been talking about my mother behind my back. Elias's mother, Dayami always called her.

Dayami' s eyes widened. She knew she'd been caught. "I… I don't know what you're talking about!"

My hand shot out. I grabbed the heavy ashtray from the coffee table. I didn't even think.

With a primal scream, I flung it at her.

It sailed through the air, thankfully missing her head, but it struck her arm with a sickening thud.

Dayami shrieked, clutching her arm. "Oh, my arm! Elias, she hit me! She hurt me!" She sank to the floor, sobbing dramatically.

Elias rushed to her, cradling her in his arms. He glared at me, his eyes blazing with fury. "Kelsey! Are you crazy?! You hit her! You physically assaulted her!"

"She lied," I said, my voice steady. "And you know it."

Elias paused, his eyes flickering. Just for a second. He knew. He knew Dayami was a liar. But then the anger returned, stronger than before.

"I don't care if she lied! You don't hit people, Kelsey! You've gone too far!" he shouted. "Apologize to her! Now!"

I laughed. A cold, hard laugh. "Apologize? For what? For telling the truth? For defending my family?"

"If you don't apologize, Kelsey, I swear to God, I'll divorce you!" he screamed, pulling Dayami closer.

My heart, which had been frozen for weeks, felt a faint flicker. A tiny spark of doubt. Maybe he still cared. Maybe this was a chance.

"Elias," I said, my voice softer now. "I have something important to do today. I need you to come with me."

He looked at me, his eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"I'm going to… terminate the pregnancy," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I need you there. As the father."

He stared at me, then burst out laughing. A harsh, cruel laugh. "You're joking, right? You think I'm going to play along with your pathetic games?"

Kelsey Reyes POV:

His laughter echoed in the silent apartment. It was a sound that shattered the last fragile fragments of hope I might have held.

"Games?" I asked, my voice trembling now, not with sadness, but with a searing rage. "You think this is a game, Elias?"

I reached into my bag. I pulled out the neatly folded divorce papers. They rustled softly in the quiet room.

"Fine," I said, my voice as cold as the winter wind. "Let's play your game, Elias. Or rather, let's end it." I held out the papers. "Sign them. Now."

His eyes, still red-rimmed from his fit of rage, widened as he saw the documents. The laughter died in his throat. His face drained of all color.

"Divorce papers?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Kelsey, what is this? You can't be serious! What about our child? You' re pregnant!"

"The child is gone, Elias," I said, my voice flat. "And you made that decision for us when you chose her over our family, over our company, over everything."

Dayami, who had been sitting up, wide-eyed, suddenly tried to interject. "Elias, don't listen to her! She's just trying to trick you!"

Elias, surprisingly, cut her off. "Dayami, wait outside. Please." His voice was strained.

Dayami' s expression turned from feigned sympathy to outright fury. She shot me a venomous look, then stomped out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Now alone, Elias' s demeanor shifted. He dropped the enraged act, his shoulders slumping. He looked genuinely distraught.

"Kelsey, please," he began, his voice hoarse. "Don't do this. I know I messed up. I know I… I went too far. But Dayami, she's just a junior employee. Nothing more. A distraction. A mistake."

He reached for my hand. I pulled it away.

"A mistake that cost us everything, Elias," I said.

"No! Please! I swear, Kelsey, I' ll fire her. I' ll never see her again. She means nothing to me. You' re my wife. You' re the mother of our child." He swallowed hard. "You' re everything."

"You don't love me, Elias," I stated, not as a question, but as a cold, hard fact. "If you did, you wouldn't have done any of this. I'm letting you go. Be with her. Be happy."

He recoiled as if I had struck him. "That's not true! I do love you! How can you say that?"

Just then, his phone vibrated loudly on the coffee table. A distinctive, chirpy ringtone. It was the same personalized ringtone Dayami had for her phone. Elias had programmed it for her calls. And it was playing now.

His eyes darted to the phone, then back to my impassive face. He looked trapped.

He picked it up, his hand shaking slightly. He glanced at the caller ID. It was Dayami.

"Elias, I have to go," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Dayami… she needs me. It' s important."

I didn' t say a word. I just watched him.

He took a step towards me, his hand reaching out. He tried to kiss me, a desperate, fumbling attempt.

I turned my head. His lips brushed my cheek, cold and lifeless.

"I'll fix this, Kelsey," he promised, his voice full of false hope. "I'll keep my distance from her. I swear."

He grabbed his keys and rushed out the door.

I watched him go. Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, I picked up my phone. I opened my contacts. Found his name. Deleted. Blocked. I did the same for Dayami.

The next morning, eight o' clock. He wasn' t there.

My parents were. My father, Jerome, held my hand tightly. My mother stroked my hair.

We walked into the hospital. It felt sterile, cold. The white walls, the smell of antiseptic.

I lay on the table. The nurses were kind, their faces etched with a quiet sympathy.

"Just a little prick, dear," one said, as she inserted the IV. "You' ll feel sleepy soon."

The world began to blur. Darkness enveloped me.

When I woke, my mother was holding my hand. My father was by the window, his back to me.

"Are you in pain, sweetheart?" my mother whispered, her eyes full of concern.

I smiled faintly. "No, Mom. Not anymore."

My father turned around. His face was grim. "We're divorcing him, Kelsey. It's time."

I nodded. A single tear escaped my eye, but it wasn't for the past. It was for the future.

The next few days passed in a haze. My mother stayed with me, nursing me back to health. Slowly, physically, I recovered.

One afternoon, my parents stepped out for a moment, to grab lunch. I decided to take a walk down the hospital corridor. The quiet rhythmic beeping of machines was a strange lullaby.

I turned a corner.

And froze.

Elias. And Dayami.

They were in the waiting area, a few feet away. Dayami looked pale, her arm in a sling. Elias was fussing over her, his hand gently stroking her hair.

They saw me. Their faces, at first concerned, twisted into shock. Elias' s hand fell from Dayami's hair.

"Kelsey?" Elias stammered out, his eyes wide. "What are you doing here? Are you… are you okay?"

He looked at Dayami's sling, then back at me. "Dayami just had a little accident. Nothing serious." He tried to offer a reassuring smile, but it looked forced. "What about you? What did the doctor say? About the baby?"

I turned to walk away. I couldn't breathe.

"Kelsey, wait!" Elias grabbed my wrist. His grip was surprisingly strong. "Tell me! What happened to our baby?!"

Kelsey Reyes POV:

His fingers dug into my wrist. His eyes were wide, desperate.

"Tell me, Kelsey! What about the child? Don't you dare walk away from me! I have a right to know!" Elias' s voice was a low snarl, laced with a frantic edge.

I tried to pull my arm free. He held on tighter.

"You have a right?" I asked, my voice rising. "You didn't have a right when you were screwing around with your 'little sister'! You didn't have a right when you left me to deal with everything alone!"

"Give me the damn results, Kelsey!" he yelled, shaking my arm. "I'm the father!"

A surge of white-hot fury erupted inside me. My free hand flew up. The slap cracked across his face. A sharp, stinging sound in the silent corridor.

His head snapped back. He stared at me, his eyes burning with disbelief and rage.

"Father?" I spat, my voice laced with venom. "You? You were never a father, Elias. You were never even a husband worth mentioning."

He lunged for me, but a strong hand caught him.

"You touch her again, you bastard, and I'll break every bone in your body!"

It was my father. Jerome. His face was a mask of cold fury. He punched Elias square in the jaw. Elias stumbled back, clutching his face.

"Dad!" I gasped, shocked by the sudden violence.

"What do you mean, never a father?" Elias whimpered, rubbing his jaw. "What are you talking about, Kelsey?"

My father stepped between us, shielding me from Elias. His voice was grim, devoid of all feeling.

"The child is gone, Elias."

Elias stared at him, then at me, his face paling. "No… no, that's not true. She's just mad. She's lying."

"Lying?" My father' s laugh was harsh. "You want to know where your child is, Elias? Go look in the hospital biohazard bin. That' s where your negligence put it."

Elias swayed. His eyes darted to me, pleading. "Kelsey… tell me he' s lying. Please."

Dayami, who had been scrambling to her feet, suddenly crumpled back to the floor, letting out a theatrical moan. "Oh, my head! I think I'm fainting!"

Elias didn' t even glance at her. His gaze was fixed on me.

"Kelsey?" His voice was barely a whisper now, trembling with a raw, agonizing fear. "The baby… our baby… is it really…?"

I looked at him. No emotion. No pity. Just a cold, hard truth.

"Yes, Elias," I said, my voice steady, unwavering. "It is."

He shook his head, denial etched on his face. "No… no, it can't be. I had everything planned. The nursery, the tiny shoes… I even bought a little blanket. A blue one."

"You never even bothered to show up for the appointment, Elias," I said, my voice flat. "You were too busy comforting your mistress."

"No! That's not fair! You can't blame this on me!" he cried, tears streaming down his face. His carefully constructed facade shattered into a million pieces.

"Oh, but I can, Elias," I said. "You. And her. Both of you killed my child."

Dayami, from the floor, piped up, "Elias, I'm really hurt! Help me!"

Elias whirled around, his eyes blazing. "Shut UP, Dayami! Just shut UP!" His voice was a guttural roar.

He turned back to me, collapsing to his knees. He grabbed my legs, his head pressed against my stomach.

"Kelsey, please! Tell me this is a nightmare! Tell me I can wake up!" he sobbed, his body shaking uncontrollably.

My father pulled him away from me. "This isn't a dream, Elias. This is your reality."

"You don't get to grieve, Elias," my father said, his voice hard. "You forfeited that right the moment you chose her over your family. Over your unborn child."

My mother appeared, her arm around my waist, pulling me gently away. Her eyes were filled with a fierce, protective anger as she glared at Elias.

A strange, hollow satisfaction settled in my chest. It wasn't happiness. It was akin to a dull ache finally being soothed.

Elias slid further down the wall, a broken, weeping mess on the cold hospital floor. His cries echoed through the corridor.

I walked away. I didn't look back.

The elevator doors opened. My mother guided me inside. The doors slid shut, sealing Elias and Dayami, their pathetic drama, out of my life.

I leaned against the cool metal of the elevator wall. The city lights blurred outside the car window as we drove home. I felt exhausted, but my mind was clearer than it had been in weeks.

The grief was still there, a dull throb beneath my ribs. But Elias' s pain, his utter devastation, had somehow cauterized the wound.

"Kelsey, you shouldn't have done that," my mother said softly, her hand stroking my arm. "He's lost his child."