Emma POV

I hit the floor hard. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and instinctively, my hands flew to my stomach. Protecting it. Protecting the baby that no one else even knew existed yet.

Before I could catch my breath or try to say anything, Mr. Bennett's hand came down again. Another slap to the side of my head that made my ears ring.

"You worthless piece of trash! Why would Sophie try to kill herself over someone like you? You're the one who deserves to die!"

Each word came out through clenched teeth, dripping with disgust. He hated me. I could see it in his eyes, pure, unfiltered hatred.

"Dad, it's okay. Really. I'm not meant to be with Dylan anyway. Please don't blame Emma."

Sophie's voice drifted from across the room, soft and broken, punctuated by quiet sobs.

My lip was still bleeding, the corner of my mouth throbbing and swollen. My head felt like it was full of static, buzzing with pain. But I forced myself to lift it anyway, to look up.

And there they were.

Sophie was leaning against Dylan's chest, and he was holding her so carefully. So gently. His eyes were soft in a way I'd never seen them, at least not when he looked at me. His whole face radiated tenderness as he whispered something to her, probably telling her everything would be okay.

They looked like they belonged together. Like they were two halves of the same whole.

It twisted something deep in my chest, sharp and cruel.

If that night three months ago had never happened, Dylan would be with Sophie right now. He'd be her fiancé, her future husband. Not mine. And Sophie wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed after trying to end her own life.

Even though I didn't plan any of it, even though I never meant for things to turn out this way, the guilt crashed over me like a wave.

"Sophie, you're still defending that witch right now?" Mr. Bennett's voice rose again, furious and incredulous. "If she hadn't trapped Dylan, you'd be Mrs. Carter by now! You wouldn't be so heartbroken you'd want to kill yourself just because you and Dylan got separated. You're too kind. Too forgiving. That's why she keeps taking advantage of you!"

His words stung, each one like salt in an open wound.

"Dad, please stop..." Sophie's voice wavered. She turned her face to look at me, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying, held something that might have been pity. Or maybe sadness. "Emma, if you loved Dylan, you should have told me. I wouldn't have fought with you over him. Why did you have to do it like this? I'm so disappointed in you."

"Sophie, I didn't…" I started to say, but the words barely made it past my split lip before Mr. Bennett cut me off.

"How dare you say it wasn't you!" His face turned an alarming shade of red. "Are you really going to keep lying, you awful…" He stopped himself from finishing the curse, but barely. "Fine. If you want to be stubborn, I'll beat the truth out of you!"

He grabbed a chair from beside the hospital bed, lifting it above his head.

My blood ran cold. My hands instinctively went back to my stomach, covering it protectively as I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Why are you still here? Do you want to die?"

Dylan's voice cut through the chaos, cold and sharp as ice.

I opened my eyes. Mr. Bennett had frozen mid-swing, the chair still raised above his head. He was staring at Dylan.

My whole body was shaking as I scrambled to my feet, every muscle screaming in protest. I had to get out of there. For the baby. I had to protect the baby.

I kept my head down, couldn't bear to look at any of them. My face was swollen and hot, probably already turning purple. I covered it with one hand and limped toward the door as fast as I could manage.

Behind me, I could hear their voices, accusing, angry, disappointed. But I didn't look back.

When I finally made it to the hospital entrance, I reached for my phone to call another ride.

It wasn't in my pocket.

My heart sank. I must have dropped it somewhere in that room during all the chaos. The thought of going back there, facing them all again, made me feel physically sick.

But I needed my phone.

Taking a shaky breath, I turned around and headed back.

When I got to the elevator, the doors slid open right as I approached.

And there he was. Dylan, stepping out.

He stood there looking perfectly composed as always, tall, confident, his handsome face completely unreadable. He stood out even in a crowded hospital hallway, the kind of person your eyes just naturally gravitated toward.

But something felt off. Why was he leaving already? Shouldn't he be up there with Sophie for longer?

I didn't let myself think about it too much. I kept my head down and quickly stepped into the elevator before the doors could close.

I felt like a criminal sneaking around. My heart was pounding as I rode back up to Sophie's floor, creeping down the hallway like a thief trying not to get caught.

There, my phone was sitting in the corner by the wall, right where it must have fallen during everything.

I grabbed it quickly, my hands still shaking, and was about to leave when I heard it.

Sophie's laugh. Bright and energetic, coming from inside the room.

"God, I feel so good when I think about how that pathetic country girl got beaten until she couldn't even lift her head."

Country girl?

I froze. My blood turned to ice in my veins.

Was she talking about... me?

"If I hadn't walked into the wrong room that night, I would've been the one who spent the night with Dylan! How could I let that trashy country bumpkin take advantage of it? I feel absolutely sick whenever I think about Dylan being with her!"

Every word hit me like a physical blow. My face went completely white. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.

The truth was right there, forcing its way into my brain even though I desperately didn't want to believe it.

Emma POV

I couldn't connect the woman I was hearing with Sophie. My Sophie. It didn't make sense.

Ever since the Bennetts took me in and I met her, I'd always thought she was this sweet, generous person. Elegant and kind. Gentle in every way. But now...

"I'm so angry I could scream!" Sophie's voice rose, sharp and bitter. "I spent so much time planning everything perfectly. I even got Dylan to drink that spiked drink. I had reporters ready to come photograph everything first thing in the morning so there'd be proof that I'd spent the night with him. That way Mr. Carter would have to let me marry Dylan. But I screwed up the stupid room number! I ended up sleeping with some disgusting random guy instead, and Emma, that pathetic little tramp, accidentally got everything I worked for!"

So that was the truth. That was the real face of the "good sister" who'd been crying and begging everyone to show me mercy just minutes ago.

My heart was racing so fast I felt dizzy. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. The emotion bubbling up in my chest felt almost hysterical.

This was Dylan's, precious darling. The one he looked at with such softness and care.

This was everyone's sweet-tempered, well-mannered young lady.

This was my big sister. The one I'd looked up to and respected for years.

"You're an idiot too, you know." That was Mrs. Morgan's voice now, scolding. "How could you walk into the wrong room?"

"I wanted to make it more fun, so I took some of the drugs too!" Sophie's tone turned defensive and agitated. "How was I supposed to know they'd be that strong? What are we going to do now? I don't want her staying in the position of Mrs. Carter for another second! Dylan is MY man!"

"It's simple." Mr. Bennett's voice was calm and confident. "Did you see how worried Dylan looked just now? As long as you say the word, he'll definitely divorce that worthless girl."

Mrs. Morgan laughed, the sound light and delighted. "Your father's absolutely right. Dylan was forced by that old man to marry her. But the person he actually loves is you. As long as you ask him to, he'll make you Mrs. Carter in no time."

Sophie made this satisfied little sound. "Who does that witch think she is? How dare she try to compete with me for Dylan? If her bone marrow hadn't been a match for mine, she never would have been allowed into our family in the first place. Do you know how disgusted I feel every single time I have to call her my sister?"

The words hit me like ice water.

My vision started going dark around the edges. I felt this creeping coldness starting at my feet and working its way up through my whole body.

The Bennetts hadn't adopted me out of kindness or good intentions.

They'd adopted me because Sophie needed my bone marrow.

For the past five years, Sophie had been calling me her sister, playing the role of the loving older sibling. But it had all been an act. A hypocritical show put on for appearances.

Whenever I wasn't around, I was nothing to them. Less than nothing.

Heh. How absolutely ironic.

A wave of nausea hit me suddenly. The ugly truth was making me feel physically sick.

"How annoying!" Sophie's voice came through the door again, irritated now. "I went through all the trouble of setting up this fake suicide scene to make Dylan want to divorce that witch. But then he had to leave for some stupid emergency meeting before I could even talk to him about it."

So the suicide attempt had been fake too. Another performance. Sophie had been putting on a show for Dylan, trying to manipulate him into divorcing me as quickly as possible.

The whole thing suddenly felt ridiculous. Almost laughable. How could someone as smart as Dylan fall for someone like Sophie?

"Don't worry, sweetheart." Mrs. Morgan's voice was soothing, reassuring. "I'll call Dylan later and tell him that awful girl came here to cause trouble again. I'll say she triggered you and pushed you into an emotional breakdown that made you try to kill yourself. I'm certain he'll agree to divorce her after that."

I could hear the satisfaction in Sophie's response, like everything was going according to plan.

"Mom, you're brilliant! Yes, let's do exactly that!"

Whatever tiny shred of hope I'd been holding onto for this family, for their affection, their acceptance, it died right there in that moment. Just completely crumbled to dust.

I let out this short, bitter laugh and pushed the door open without bothering to knock or announce myself.

"I believe that as long as I'm still breathing, the position of Mrs. Carter will never be yours, Sophie!"

The room went dead silent.

All three of them whipped around to stare at me, their faces frozen in identical expressions of shock. Like they'd seen a ghost. Their eyes were practically bulging out of their heads.

"You... Emma... how long have you been standing there?" Sophie's voice came out strangled, her face going pale.

"Long enough." I walked further into the room, and I was surprised by how steady my voice sounded. How calm I felt, considering my entire world had just been turned upside down. "Long enough to hear every single word of your little plan."

"You were eavesdropping!" Mrs. Morgan recovered first, her shock quickly morphing into outrage. "How dare you…"

"How dare I?" I actually laughed at that. "How dare YOU? All of you!" I looked at each of them in turn. "You used me. You only brought me into your family because you needed my bone marrow for Sophie. You never cared about me. Not once."

"Now you listen here…" Mr. Bennett started, his face turning red.

"No, YOU listen!" Something inside me had snapped. Five years of trying to be good enough, trying to earn their love, trying to fit into a family that never wanted me in the first place. "I heard everything. The drugs. The setup. The fake suicide. All of it."

Sophie's eyes darted nervously between her parents. She looked panicked now, trying to figure out how to salvage this. "Emma, you're misunderstanding…"

"Stop." I held up my hand. "Just stop with the act. I'm done. I'm so completely done with all of you."

"You ungrateful little…" Mrs. Morgan took a step toward me, her hand raised like she was going to slap me again.

But I didn't flinch this time. I stood my ground and looked her dead in the eye.

"Go ahead," I said quietly. "Hit me again. But it won't change anything. I know the truth now. And you know what? I'm glad. I'm glad I finally see you all for what you really are."

My hand moved protectively to my stomach again. These people didn't deserve to know about the baby. They didn't deserve anything from me anymore.

"Emma, if you know what's good for you…" Mr. Bennett started, his voice low and threatening.

"What? Will you kick me out? Disown me?" I smiled, but there was no humor in it. "You already did that, remember? I'm no longer a Bennett. You made that very clear."

I turned to look at Sophie one last time. She was sitting there on the hospital bed, and without the mask of sweetness and innocence, I could finally see the real her. Cruel. Manipulative. Rotten to the core.

"You want Dylan so badly?" I said. "You want to be Mrs. Carter?"

She stared at me, suspicious and uncertain.

"Well, too bad," I continued, my voice hard. "Because I'm not giving him up. Not now. Not ever. You're going to have to watch me live the life you think you deserve. And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.”

Emma POV

The silence that followed my words was thick enough to choke on. Sophie's face had gone from pale to bright red, her hands clenching the hospital sheets so hard her knuckles turned white.

"You think you can hold onto him?" Sophie's voice came out shrill, all pretense of sweetness completely gone now. "You're delusional! Dylan hates you. He can barely stand to look at you. The only reason you're still Mrs. Carter is because his grandfather forced him into it!"

"Maybe so," I said, meeting her furious gaze without flinching. "But I'm still his wife. And you're still the woman he had to give up. That must really eat at you, doesn't it?"

Mrs. Morgan lunged forward, but Mr. Bennett grabbed her arm, holding her back. His face was calculating now, the initial shock wearing off. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head.

"You think you're so clever," he said slowly. "But who's going to believe you? It's your word against all three of ours. You have no proof of anything you heard here today."

He had a point, and we both knew it. My heart sank a little, but I kept my expression neutral.

"Besides," he continued, his confidence growing, "even if you did try to tell Dylan or his family, do you really think they'd take your side? The orphan girl nobody wanted? Against Sophie, who they've known for years? Against our family, who has connections throughout this entire city?"

The truth of his words stung, but I wasn't about to let him see that.

"You're right," I said quietly. "I don't have proof. And maybe nobody would believe me." I paused, letting the moment pass. "But I know the truth now. And that changes everything."

"It changes nothing!" Sophie practically screamed. "You're still the same pathetic, desperate girl you've always been. Clinging to a man who doesn't want you. Living in a house where you don't belong."

"At least I didn't have to drug someone and hire photographers to trap them into marriage," I shot back. "At least I didn't fake a suicide attempt for attention."

Sophie's face twisted with rage. She threw off her blankets and tried to get out of the bed, but her mother pushed her back down.

"Sophie, calm down. Don't let her get to you. She's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" Sophie laughed, but it sounded almost unhinged. "She's ruined everything! Everything I worked for! And now she stands there acting like she's better than me?"

"I never said I was better than you," I replied, and my voice came out tired suddenly. All the adrenaline that had been keeping me upright was starting to drain away. "I just said I wasn't going to make things easy for you anymore."

Mr. Bennett took a step toward me, and something in his expression made my skin crawl. It was too calm. Too controlled.

"You know, Emma, you're making a very big mistake right now. A mistake that could cost you more than you realize." His voice was soft, almost gentle, which somehow made it more threatening. "We've been very patient with you. Very tolerant. But that patience has limits."

"Is that a threat?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"It's a fact," he said simply. "You have no family besides us. No money of your own. No real education or skills. Everything you have, the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the roof over your head, it all comes from Dylan. And how long do you think that's going to last once Sophie asks him to divorce you?"

My hand tightened protectively over my stomach. The baby. I had to think about the baby.

"Dylan won't divorce me," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

"Won't he?" Sophie smiled now, and it was a cruel, satisfied smile. "Watch me. One phone call, Emma. That's all it'll take. One call to Dylan, crying about how you came here and attacked me while I was vulnerable. How you screamed at me and blamed me for trying to steal him away. How you made me so upset I tried to hurt myself again."

"He won't believe you," I said, but my voice wavered slightly.

"He will," Sophie said with absolute certainty. "Because he wants to believe me. He's looking for any excuse to get rid of you. And I'm going to give him one."

Mrs. Morgan pulled out her phone, holding it up so I could see. "Should I call him right now? Let him know what you've done?"

My mind was racing. I needed to get out of there. I needed time to think, to figure out what to do next. But my body felt heavy, exhausted. The baby. I had to protect the baby.

"Go ahead," I heard myself say. "Call him. Tell him whatever lies you want. But it won't change the fact that I'm his wife. Legally. Officially. And unless he divorces me, I'm not going anywhere."

I turned and walked toward the door, my legs somehow managing to carry me even though they felt like they might give out at any second.

"Emma!" Sophie's voice stopped me just as I reached the doorway. I looked back. She was sitting up in bed, her eyes glittering with malice. "You should know something. That night, the night you spent with Dylan, it wasn't an accident. I made sure you'd be at that party. I made sure you'd drink just enough to lower your guard. The only mistake was walking into the wrong room myself."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. She'd planned it. She'd deliberately put me in that situation, used me as a pawn in her scheme.

"Why?" The question came out barely above a whisper.

Sophie's smile widened. "Because I needed a backup plan, obviously. If something went wrong with my part of the setup, I needed someone to take the fall. Someone expendable. And who better than my pathetic little adoptive sister?"

The room spun. I grabbed the doorframe to steady myself.

"Oh, and Emma?" Sophie's voice followed me. "That bone marrow you gave me five years ago? I'm completely healthy now. Have been for almost three years. We just never told you because it was useful having you around, thinking we still needed you. Thinking you still had value to us."

I couldn't breathe. The hallway suddenly felt too small, too hot. I stumbled out of the room, barely making it a few steps before I had to lean against the wall.

Five years. Five years of believing I was part of their family. Five years of believing Sophie needed me, that I served a purpose. But I'd been useless to them for three years, and they'd just let me keep believing the lie.

I pressed both hands against my stomach, feeling tears burn behind my eyes. But I wouldn't cry. Not here. Not where they might see.

I needed to get home. Needed to lie down. My whole body ached from the beating earlier, and the stress was making everything worse. I forced myself to move, putting one foot in front of the other until I made it to the elevator.

The ride down felt like it took forever. When the doors finally opened to the ground floor, I stepped out and immediately collided with someone.