Elinor Frost POV:

Braden reached us in three furious strides, grabbing Eleanor' s wrist with a force that made her gasp. His eyes, dark and stormy, were fixed on her, completely ignoring me. "Who are you?" he snarled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "And why are you touching my wife?"

Eleanor, despite her surprise, yanked her hand free, rubbing her wrist. "Mr. Harmon, I'm Eleanor Vance, Elinor's divorce attorney." She said it with a calm authority that only seemed to infuriate Braden further.

His head snapped towards me, his eyes burning with accusation. "Divorce attorney?" he scoffed, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. "You're moving fast, aren't you, Elinor? Couldn't wait to find a replacement, could you? Or did you already have him lined up, waiting in the wings?" His gaze flickered to Eleanor, then back to me, full of contempt. "So quick to discard me, yet so eager to find comfort elsewhere." He leaned in, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper only I could hear. "Don't think I don't see what you're doing, Frosty. Playing the victim, then running to the first man who'll give you attention. Pathetic."

The stinging words, the blatant injustice, the years of his infidelity thrown back in my face as if I were the one in the wrong-it was too much. A white-hot rage, unlike anything I had ever felt, surged through me. My hand moved before I even registered the thought, a sharp, resounding slap echoing through the suddenly silent coffee shop.

Braden froze, his head snapping to the side, a crimson mark blooming on his cheek. Eleanor, startled, took a step back.

"She's not looking for a 'replacement', Mr. Harmon," Eleanor interjected, her voice sharp with indignation. "She's looking for freedom. And she's entitled to it."

Before Eleanor could say another word, Braden retaliated. His fist, fueled by blind fury, flew out, connecting with Eleanor's jaw. The sound was sickening. Eleanor stumbled backward, collapsing into a stack of chairs with a loud clatter. Papers, legal documents, scattered across the floor like fallen leaves.

"Eleanor!" I cried, rushing to her side. The shock of his violence, so raw and unrestrained, paralyzed me for a split second. "Braden, stop it! What are you doing?"

But as I knelt beside Eleanor, a searing pain ripped through my abdomen. It was a sharp, twisting agony, far worse than any dizziness I had felt before. My breath caught in my throat, a choked sob escaping my lips. I clutched my stomach, doubling over, the world tilting violently.

Braden, his face still contorted with rage, looked down at me. Then, his eyes widened, his anger replaced by a sudden, sickening pallor. "Elinor?" he choked out, his voice laced with uncharacteristic fear. "What's wrong?" He rushed forward, pushing Eleanor's unconscious form aside. "Elinor, baby, what is it? I'll get you to a doctor. Immediately." Panic etched his face, a raw, genuine fear that made my fractured heart clench.

The next thing I knew, I was in a hospital bed again, the sterile scent a familiar greeting. The dull ache in my abdomen was still there, a constant, nagging reminder. Braden was beside me, his hand clasping mine, his face pale and drawn. He looked genuinely worried, his eyes scanning my face with an intensity I hadn't seen in years.

"Elinor," he whispered, his voice hoarse, "are you okay? I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have... I don't know what came over me."

For a fleeting moment, a foolish, desperate part of me wondered if this was it. If the old Braden, the caring, gentle Braden, had finally returned. Perhaps the raw shock of what he'd done had jolted him back to reality. Perhaps this was the turning point.

Then, a familiar, saccharine voice cut through the silence. "Braden, darling, I told you she was just being dramatic. She always knows how to make a scene."

Destany. She stood in the doorway, her arm in a sling, a bandage over her temple. Her eyes, however, held a triumphant glint that belied her injured appearance. "It was just a little fall, Braden. She's fine. We should go. Your grandfather is furious about your little 'scuffle' at the coffee shop. He said we need to address the media immediately."

Braden flinched, but his gaze remained fixed on me.

"Oh, and I brought your divorce papers, Elinor," Destany added, her voice dripping with false concern. She held up a crumpled stack of documents, the very ones that had scattered across the coffee shop floor. "Braden accidentally picked them up. Such a clumsy coincidence, wasn't it?" Her eyes, though, were gleaming with knowing malice.

She saw them. She had seen the divorce papers. The realization hit me like a cold wave. Her visit wasn't about concern; it was about confirming my departure, about securing her place. I watched as a flicker of pure, unadulterated excitement danced in her eyes. She wanted this. She wanted me gone.

"You knew, didn't you?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, but laced with an undeniable steel. "You saw the papers in the coffee shop, and you came here to confirm. You wanted me out of the way, didn't you, Destany?"

Destany's triumphant smile faltered, replaced by a momentary flash of shock. She hadn't expected me to confront her. "What? Of course not, Elinor! I just... I was worried about Braden. He's so upset. And I wanted to make sure you were okay, too, of course." Her excuse was as flimsy as her earlier act.

Braden, who had been listening in stunned silence, finally looked up, a frown deepening on his face. "Destany," he warned, his voice low, "that's enough."

The tension in the room was palpable, thick with unspoken truths. Three people, caught in a web of deceit, betrayal, and unacknowledged desires.

With a sudden, decisive movement, I pulled my hand from Braden's grasp. It felt cold, detached. I met his eyes, my own devoid of any lingering affection. "I want a divorce, Braden," I said, each word a hammer blow against the fragile peace. "Now."

Braden blinked, a slow, disbelieving blink. Then, a strange smile touched his lips. It wasn't a happy smile, or even a cruel one. It was... relieved? He reached out, his hand gently stroking my hair. "Elinor, my love," he murmured, his voice surprisingly soft, "that won't be necessary. You're pregnant."

The words hung in the air, echoing in the sterile room, shattering the fragile remnants of my world. Pregnant? Me?

My hand flew to my abdomen, a primal, protective instinct overriding everything else. My mind reeled. The dizzy spells, the nausea, the sudden aversion to certain smells... I had dismissed them as stress, a consequence of Braden's ongoing cruelty. But a baby? Our baby? The timing was impossibly, cruelly wrong.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head, "that changes nothing. I still want a divorce." My voice was firm, though my mind was a whirlwind of confusion.

Destany let out a small, triumphant gasp. "Pregnant?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening with a mix of shock and a barely concealed excitement. "Braden, you have to keep her! Think of the family legacy! Think of Keshawn!" She gripped his arm, urging him, her voice laced with desperation. "You can't let her leave now!"

Braden's gaze hardened, his eyes flashing with a cold anger I recognized. "Destany, be quiet," he snapped, his voice sharp and menacing. "Get out."

Her face fell, the excitement draining away, replaced by a bruised, wounded expression. "But Braden, I'm just trying to help-"

"I said, get out!" he roared, his voice echoing off the hospital walls. "Now!"

Destany, chastened, recoiled, then scurried out of the room, her shoulders slumped in defeat. I watched her go, a strange sense of vindication mixing with a bitter understanding. She truly had wanted me gone. She had seen the divorce papers as her golden ticket, her chance to finally claim Braden, and the Harmon legacy, for herself. My pregnancy had just thwarted her carefully laid plans.

Braden turned back to me, his expression softening, but his eyes still held a calculating glint. "Elinor, you need to think about this," he said, his voice now calm, almost persuasive. "A baby changes everything. I know things have been difficult, but for the sake of our child, we can make this work. Just give me one month. Think about it. Please."

One month? My head throbbed. What was he saying? Was this genuine remorse, or another one of his manipulations? Was the baby simply another means to control me, another asset to secure?

"A child won't fix what's broken between us, Braden," I said, my voice heavy with certainty. "It won't erase the years of neglect, the public humiliations, the constant betrayals. It won't make you love me."

He leaned closer, his eyes locking onto mine, a strange mix of anger and something else-resentment? "Love?" he scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping him. "You think this is about love, Elinor? You think you have the right to talk about love? You were never supposed to be more than a convenient solution, a way to appease Grandfather. But then you tried to make me feel something. You tried to make me love you. And look what happened. You pushed me away. You made me hate you." He gripped my hand, his fingers bruising mine. "You tell me, Elinor. Who held the power in this relationship, truly? Who controlled who?"

Elinor Frost POV:

His words hung in the sterile air, heavy and poisonous. "Who controlled who?" Braden's question, steeped in resentment, echoed in my ears long after he released my hand. The truth, stark and brutal, settled over me. He really did hate me. He hated me because I had dared to try to love him, to break through the walls he had built around himself. I had tried to make him feel, and that was unforgivable in his world.

I remembered Ava, the fiery artist he had loved before me. She was everything I wasn't-unrestrained, passionate, openly defiant. She had filled their apartment with her vibrant paintings, with laughter, with a chaotic energy that both thrilled and terrified Braden. He had been completely captivated by her, a raw, untamed passion burning in his eyes whenever he looked at her.

Destany, in a strange, superficial way, reminded him of Ava. She too was an artist, albeit a manufactured pop star, but she represented the life he had been forced to abandon. She was his link to the freedom he craved, the passion he couldn't have with me. But Destany was also carefully curated, manageable, unlike Ava.

Grandfather Harmon had despised Ava. He called her a "reckless bohemian" who would "ruin Braden's prospects." He had threatened to disinherit Braden, to cut off his career opportunities, to ensure he would never achieve his dream of building a music empire, if he didn't end things with Ava. Braden, ever the pragmatist, had chosen ambition over love. He severed ties with Ava, coldly, efficiently. But the scar remained.

He had resented me ever since, for being the "approved" choice, the one who stepped into Ava's place, the one who symbolized his gilded cage. He hated me because I was a constant reminder of the life he had been forced to give up. He projected all his anger, all his frustration, all his unfulfilled desires onto me. I was the convenient villain, the easily accessible target for his bitterness.

The realization was both absurd and profoundly sad. I had been the scapegoat, the punching bag for a man who couldn't reconcile his ambition with his heart. My love, my quiet efforts, my very presence, had become an unbearable burden to him.

Braden snatched the crumpled divorce papers from the bedside table, his face a thundercloud. He looked at them as if they were a curse, then crumpled them further. "One month, Elinor," he repeated, his voice low and firm. "That's all I'm asking." He turned and stalked out of the room, leaving me alone with the crushing weight of his twisted logic.

He didn't come back to the hospital. Not that day, or the next. My family, led by Guy, rallied around me, a fierce, protective shield. Guy, with his quiet strength, became my rock. He arranged for the best doctors, kept the media at bay, and made sure I had everything I needed. He brought me my favorite books, sat by my bedside, and just let me be, his presence a comforting anchor in the storm.

A few days later, I was discharged. Stepping back into the opulent, silent house felt strange, like returning to a crime scene. As I walked down the hall, a faint smell of burnt toast wafted from the kitchen. My brow furrowed in confusion. Braden was supposed to be touring with Destany.

I pushed open the kitchen door. Braden was there, standing awkwardly by the stove, a smoke detector chirping faintly in the background. A blackened frying pan sat on the burner, emitting wisps of smoke. He was wearing a ridiculously expensive silk robe, clearly out of his element. He looked up, startled, his face breaking into a hesitant smile.

"Elinor! You're home!" He rushed towards me, his arms outstretched. "I was just... making you breakfast in bed. Well, I tried to. It seems I'm not quite the chef you are." He gestured vaguely at the charred remains in the pan. He even tried to help me with my small overnight bag, reaching for it with an eagerness that felt utterly foreign.

I flinched away from his touch, a visceral reaction that surprised him. "I'm fine, Braden," I said, my voice flat. "And I'm not hungry." The sarcasm in my voice was a sharp edge I hadn't known I possessed.

His smile faltered, replaced by a flicker of disappointment. It was a genuine flicker, and for a moment, I almost felt a pang of something akin to sympathy. Then I remembered his words, his cruel accusations, his public betrayals. The memory of his casual dismissal of my cooking, and his subsequent hunger-induced rage over my refusal to prepare it, was a bitter pill to swallow. He was suffering now, perhaps, but it was nothing compared to the years of quiet agony he had inflicted on me. He was getting a taste of his own medicine.

I walked past him, ignoring his attempt at a conciliatory gesture. The smell of burnt food mingled with the faint scent of his cologne, a sickening combination. I went straight to my room, locking the door behind me.

Later that evening, after the housekeeper had cleared the burnt offerings, there was a tentative knock on my door. "Elinor? It's Braden. I brought you something."

I ignored him. After a moment, the door creaked open. He stepped in, holding a steaming mug. "I made you a calming herbal tea," he said, setting it on my bedside table. "For relaxation. The nurse said it helps with... morning sickness." He sat on the edge of the bed, too close, his gaze intense.

The sweet, cloying smell of chamomile instantly turned my stomach. I felt a wave of nausea, sharp and sudden. My hand flew to my mouth, and I barely made it to the bathroom before I emptied the contents of my stomach.

Braden was there in an instant, his face etched with genuine concern. He was holding my hair back, his touch surprisingly gentle. "Elinor, are you okay? What's wrong? Is it the tea? I thought it would help."

I pushed his hand away, weakly. "I hate chamomile tea, Braden," I choked out, wiping my mouth.

He stared at me, genuinely confused. "But... you used to drink it all the time. You said it was your favorite."

I remembered the countless times he had offered me chamomile tea when I was stressed, sick, or just sad. And every time, I had forced a smile, thanked him, and choked it down, pretending to like it because it was his gesture of "comfort." I had been so desperate for any sign of his affection that I had suppressed my own preferences, my own tastes, my own identity. I had been a fool.

"My tastes have changed, Braden," I said, my voice cold, devoid of any warmth. Then I turned my back to him, signaling the end of the conversation.

He left a few minutes later, still looking bewildered.

A few nights later, I was woken by hushed voices downstairs. I crept to the top of the stairs, peering down. My mother and father were there, talking to Braden.

"Oh, so the little one finally decided to make an appearance?" my mother chuckled, her voice carrying up the stairs. "Well, Braden, congratulations. This is certainly... unexpected." She patted his arm, a knowing glint in her eyes.

Braden smiled, a wide, almost triumphant grin. "Thank you, Mother-in-law. We're very happy." He shot a glance up the stairs, knowing I was there, listening. He was forcing my hand, announcing my pregnancy to my parents, securing his hold on me through our child. It was a calculated move, a desperate attempt to trap me in this marriage. I felt a cold surge of anger. He was twisting the knife, using our unborn child as a pawn in his manipulative game.

The last thing I remembered was his satisfied smile, the way his eyes glittered with a dangerous triumph. He was cornering me. And I hated him for it.