My best friend, Caroline Vanderbilt, and I married into the prestigious Ashford family of New York.

I married the brilliant surgeon, the older brother, Jonas, while she married the finance mogul, the younger brother, Charles.

At our wedding in the Hamptons, Jonas suddenly disappeared to console his ex-girlfriend, who was going through a "creative block."

My Grandma Rose was so devastated by the public humiliation that she collapsed from a heart attack, her life hanging by a thread. With trembling hands, I dialed his number, pleading for him to return—he was the only surgeon in New York who could perform the procedure.

But his voice on the other end of the line was laced with fury. "Are you insane, Ella? You'd lie about your own grandmother dying just to force me back for that damn ceremony? Katherine is having a breakdown, and I need to be here for her. We can get married anytime."

That day, Katherine’s breakdown subsided, but I lost my Grandma, the person who loved me most in this world.

I cried until I couldn't breathe. When I finally came to, Caroline was watching over me. The first words out of my mouth were, “I’m divorcing him. What about you?”

Caroline hugged me tightly, her own tears soaking my shoulder as she said in a voice I’d never heard before—hard and resolute, "I'm divorcing him too. To hell with the damn Ashfords. We’re so done with them."

That afternoon, the two Ashford brothers simultaneously received divorce papers delivered by a lawyer.

For the first time in their lives, these two impossibly arrogant men were stunned.

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1

"Jonas, let's get a divorce."

The moment I sent the message, my phone rang. It was him.

"Always with the drama, Ella. First, you lie about your grandmother dying, and now you're threatening divorce? The wedding is just a ceremony. Is that really more important than someone's life?"

Hearing his twisted logic, I gripped the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white. The last flicker of warmth in my heart died out.

"I already told you, Katherine was in agony yesterday, completely paralyzed by her creative block. She couldn't even pick up a paintbrush; she had a total meltdown. She's an artist, Ella. As my wife, can’t you show a little compassion?"

His accusations were so self-righteous, as if I were the one in the wrong.

Yesterday was supposed to be our wedding. Our guests were all gathered. But moments before our vows, he took a call and vanished.

All he left me was the sight of his retreating back and a roomful of guests whispering behind their hands.

My grandmother, that elegant, strong woman, collapsed from the sheer humiliation. I rushed her to the hospital, but the news from the doctors was a devastating blow: Jonas was the only surgeon in New York qualified to perform such a complex operation.

I called him frantically.

One call, two, ten… He didn't answer until the fifteenth try.

"Jonas, I'm begging you. Grandma had a heart attack. She's in critical condition, and the doctors say only you can save her. Please…"

On the other end, Jonas's voice was sharp with disbelief and anger. "You'd stoop to using your own grandmother just to get me back for the ceremony? Do you have any shame, Ella?"

"Katherine's having a breakdown. She could grab a knife and slit her wrists at any moment. I have to stay with her. Now stop calling me."

I sobbed, "No, I'm not lying, Grandma really…"

Hearing my cries only made him more impatient. "Alright, stop the act. It's just a wedding. As soon as Katherine's stable, we'll have another one next month… no, next week. Just stop being so damn unreasonable."

With that, he hung up.

Just as I was about to call again, the doors to the emergency room swung open. A nurse wheeled out a gurney, the heart monitor emitting a single, piercing, continuous tone. On the screen was a flat, unwavering line.

In that instant, my world shattered.

I grew up an orphan; my grandma raised me by herself, pouring everything she had into running her small flower shop.

She was my everything.

I don't know how I fainted, only that when I woke up, my best friend Caroline was staring at me, her eyes red and swollen with worry.

It was in that moment that I made my decision.

Ever since Katherine Monroe returned from Paris six months ago, Jonas’s attention had been entirely hers.

He’d claim to be working late at the hospital, but he was really with Katherine.

He never noticed my social media posts. When I once asked him to like one, he called me childish.

But the second Katherine posted anything, he was the first to like and comment.

I had always believed that once we were married, we’d have a lifetime to build something real. I thought that if I was just patient, he would eventually see me.

But all I ever received was his emotional neglect, and his patience with me grew thinner by the day.

The night we signed our marriage license at City Hall, he canceled our celebratory dinner to go see the Brooklyn skyline with Katherine.

Whenever Katherine needed him, he would drop everything and race to her side, no matter what.

Once, when my appendix flared up and I was doubled over in a cold sweat, I begged him to take me to the hospital. He didn't even look up from his medical journal. "Call a cab," he said coolly. "If you can't handle this, how do you ever expect to handle childbirth?"

But when Katherine nicked her finger while chopping vegetables, he would drop everything to bandage it himself.

To Jonas, Katherine’s “artistic soul” was a sacred, untouchable thing.

I knew I couldn't compete with Katherine's place in his heart, but I never dreamed he'd decide my grandmother's life was worth less than one of his ex's moods.

On the phone, Jonas was still talking. "Katherine was shaken up and needs a change of scenery. I'm taking her and her paintings to Art Basel in Miami to help her clear her head. We can talk about whatever this is when I get back."

Caroline, who had been standing beside me the entire time, finally snapped. She snatched the phone from my hand and roared into it.

"Jonas Ashford, you are a complete and utter bastard! Ella's grandmother is dead! If you have a single shred of humanity left in you, you'll get your ass to the hospital right now and see her one last time!"

Jonas was silent for a beat.

"Has Ella completely lost her mind? She's not only lying about her grandmother dying, but she's dragged you into her little performance too? Tell her the drama is getting old. Enough. I'll be back when I'm back."

Before Caroline could utter another word, he ended the call.

Caroline was shaking with rage, her hand tightening on the phone as if she wanted to smash it against the wall. "That delusional son of a bitch!"

She handed the phone back to me. My thumb accidentally brushed the screen, refreshing Katherine's Instagram feed.

There she was, holding a painting in a gallery on Miami Beach, a blissful smile on her face. Not a trace of her supposed breakdown was visible.

The caption read: "Thank you to my muse and guardian angel. We are so happy!"

Staring at the post, I picked at my chapped lips as tears began to fall, hot and unstoppable.

The irony was a punch to the gut.

He refused to save my grandmother, but he was gallivanting across the country with his "muse" and her art.

My marriage to Jonas was, from the start, a transaction.

He was my grandmother's attending physician when she began showing early signs of Alzheimer's. The specialized care facility she needed was far beyond what I could afford, and I was desperate. Jonas offered to cover the costs on one condition: I had to play the part of his fiancée.

His family was pressuring him to marry, and he needed someone to appease them: an obedient, easy-to-control woman with a spotless past.

I agreed. And as we spent more time together, I made the foolish mistake of falling in love with him.

Since Caroline was marrying his younger brother, Charles, the idea of my best friend and me becoming family felt like a fairy tale. So I pursued him, and eventually, we became a real couple.

Seeing me cry, Caroline wrapped her arms around me.

"Ella, don't waste your tears on him. A bastard like that isn't worth a single one."

The thought of my grandmother being gone forever was a crushing weight.

My voice was choked with sobs. "Caroline, I don't have a family anymore. Grandma's gone."

Caroline patted my back, her voice soft but firm. "You still have me, Ella. I'll always be here for you."

I nodded into her shoulder.

Caroline Vanderbilt and I had been inseparable since college. We told each other everything; we were closer than sisters.

Suddenly, Caroline's phone buzzed.

It was Charles.

Caroline and Charles had a marriage of convenience, an alliance between their powerful families.

After the wedding, Charles became a tabloid fixture. Caroline had always refused to believe he'd betray her, until the night before, when the press splashed photos of him on vacation in St. Barts with a swimsuit model all over the internet.

The moment Caroline answered, Charles's irritated voice crackled through. "Caroline Vanderbilt, I just stepped off the plane, and you're already looking for a fight? I know you saw the news."

"I ran into that model at a restaurant by chance. We move in the same circles, so we said hello. It's not what the tabloids are making it out to be. Are you seriously going to nag me over something so trivial and threaten divorce? Can't you ever just let things go?"

Caroline let out a cold, hollow laugh, her eyes filling with bitter disappointment. "A coincidence that you ate together, shopped together, and just happened to stay in the same suite at the Four Seasons? Charles, don't take me for a fool!"

Caught in his lie, Charles showed no remorse. Instead, his impatience grew. "That's just the media spinning a story. I haven't done anything to wrong you. Believe whatever you want. If you want a divorce, fine by me."

Caroline was so furious she was speechless. "Charles… you—" Beep. Beep. Beep.

He had hung up on her.

She wiped angrily at her tears and threw her phone onto the sofa. "They really are brothers, cut from the same damn cloth. We have to divorce them. Get away from these arrogant bastards!"

I knew how deeply hurt she was. Despite the business arrangement, Caroline truly loved Charles. A woman born with a silver spoon in her mouth, who’d never had to lift a finger, had painstakingly taught herself to cook just for him.

When his birthday fell during an overseas business trip, she flew over ten hours just to be with him. She’d stay up late, keeping him company while he worked, just to spend a few more hours together.

But in Charles's eyes, Caroline was just a needy socialite who clung to him, and he found it suffocating.

Caroline and I held each other and cried in silence.

Grandma's funeral was a small, simple affair, with just me and Caroline in attendance. Looking at my grandmother's peaceful face in the casket, I made a silent vow. From now on, I would live for myself.

After the funeral, I sent a terse message to Jonas. "Tomorrow. 9:30 AM. The law firm. Be there to sign the papers."

It was a long time before he replied.

"Ella, how long are you going to keep this act up? You've been throwing a fit just because I left the wedding. We're already legally married. That party meant nothing."

"If you keep pushing this, aren't you afraid I'll actually agree? You'd lose the title of Mrs. Ashford for good."

I'd tried to break up with Jonas over Katherine before, but every time he got angry, I would be the one to back down, apologizing and coaxing him until he forgave me.

So he thought I was just throwing another tantrum.

I replied, "I'm serious this time, Jonas. I want a divorce. See you tomorrow at 9:30 AM in front of the Manhattan law office. If you're not there, I'll file a lawsuit."

Jonas replied instantly. "Fine. You want a divorce so badly? I'll grant your wish."

I didn't reply.

The next morning, Caroline and I arrived at the firm. Not long after, Jonas appeared with Katherine, who was cradling a fluffy Persian cat in her arms.

Jonas and Katherine had dated in college but broke up when she insisted on moving to Paris for her art. But even after all these years, he was clearly still hung up on her.

I glanced at the diamond-studded collar on the cat. It probably cost enough to cover a year of my grandmother's medical bills.

The image of Grandma in her final moments flashed through my mind, and a sharp pain lanced through my chest.

Jonas strode up to me, his eyes sweeping over me with disdain as he prepared to go inside.

I spoke, my voice cool. "Hold on. Caroline is also getting a divorce, and Charles isn't here yet."

Jonas frowned. "Is ruining your own marriage not enough? Do you have to drag Caroline into this mess too? Won't you be happy until you've thrown our whole family into chaos?"

Hearing this, Caroline shot back, "Wipe that condescending look off your face, Jonas. I'm the one who wants a divorce; it has nothing to do with Ella! And don't you dare pretend you don't know what kind of man your brother is. You're both rotten to the core!"

With a perfectly-timed sigh, Katherine spoke in a delicate, wounded voice. "Caroline, we're just concerned. There's no need for such language."

She turned to me. "Jonas just doesn't want you to be a bad influence on Caroline and have her divorce Charles on a whim. After all, a family like the Ashfords isn't one that just anyone can marry into."

I stared at her. "Is Jonas mute? Since when is it your place to speak for him?"

Katherine's face crumpled as she looked at Jonas, her expression pleading.

"I'm sorry, Jonas. I misspoke and upset Ella. I was only trying to help…"

"Ella, that's enough," Jonas warned, his voice low.

I rolled my eyes.

He moved to shield Katherine behind him as if she were a priceless treasure. "What has she ever done to you? First, you try to undermine a talented artist, and now you're going out of your way to attack her."

Katherine added softly, "Ella, please don't misunderstand. Jonas was just helping me through an emotional crisis that day. There's nothing going on between us."

"But no matter what, you don't joke about something so morbid just to get a man's attention. Your grandmother is at a fragile age; it's a terrible thing to even suggest."

"Who are you to talk about what she can or can't take?" I snapped, my gaze turning sharp as a blade.

Jonas's eyes filled with contempt. "Your grandmother doted on you, Ella. I can't believe how cold-blooded you are."

I pulled Grandma's death certificate from my bag and thrust it at him.

"Open your eyes, Jonas Ashford. See for yourself. My grandmother is dead. She's dead!"

I shrieked, my voice echoing on the quiet street. "The day you were coddling Katherine, my grandma had a heart attack! I begged you to come back, to save her, and you refused! You decided Katherine's creative block was more important than a human life! And you have the nerve to lecture me?"

Jonas glanced at the certificate, then sneered, crumpling the paper into a ball and tossing it to the ground. "I was your grandmother's doctor; I know her condition better than you do. I never thought you'd sink so low as to forge a death certificate. I'm so disappointed in you."

He stared at me, his eyes swimming with disappointment and disgust. "Ella, I know exactly what you're doing. You don't want a divorce; you're just showing me a forged document to make me feel guilty. Well, let me tell you something—I'm done coddling you. You wanted a divorce so badly? Fine. You've got it."

I closed my eyes, a sudden, bone-deep exhaustion washing over me. I no longer had the energy to explain.

I no longer cared what he thought.

"You are a fool, Jonas," I said, my voice eerily calm. "And you will pay the price for today's arrogance."

Hearing me call him a fool, Jonas's face darkened. The old me, who had loved him so desperately, would never have dared.

Just as he was about to retort, Charles arrived.

Caroline and I exchanged a look, said nothing more, and walked into the building.

Since it was an uncontested divorce and we both waived any significant claims to marital assets, the proceedings were swift.

From beginning to end, Jonas's gaze was fixed on me. I knew he was waiting for me to break, to beg him to stop, but I didn't. I didn't even grant him a single glance.

Stepping out of the office building, the sunlight was blinding.

When Katherine saw Jonas emerge, she rushed toward him. At that moment, her cat suddenly leaped from her bag and darted toward me. I instinctively batted it away.

"Kitty!" Katherine shrieked, lunging as if to protect her cat, but the moment she made contact with me, she crumpled dramatically to the ground.

Jonas immediately rushed to help her up, his voice fraught with worry.

"Katherine, are you all right?"

Katherine sobbed, "I think I twisted my ankle… Ella, how could you take your anger out on a defenseless animal? It's just a cat…"

Jonas's head snapped toward me, his eyes blazing. "Ella, apologize to Katherine. Now."

The absurdity of it all was breathtaking.

"Her cat lunged at me. Are you blind?" I said coldly and turned to walk away.

Jonas chased after me and grabbed my arm. I tried to wrench it free, but in the struggle, he lost his footing and shoved me, sending me stumbling backward down the marble steps.

"Ah!"

I cried out, my arms instinctively wrapping around my stomach.

But it was too late.

As I tumbled to the bottom step, I felt a warm gush of liquid trickle down my thigh.

"My stomach… it hurts…"

I tried to curl into a ball, but the pain was too searing to move.

Caroline rushed to my side. Seeing the shocking crimson pool spreading beneath me, her eyes went wide with panic.

"Ella, don't be scared, it's okay, it's going to be okay."

As she fumbled for her phone to call 911, she snarled at Jonas, "Jonas Ashford, she's pregnant! Are you insane? You just pushed a pregnant woman down the stairs!"

Jonas's pupils constricted. He froze, completely stunned.

He stared at the blood on the pavement, at my pale, pain-twisted face, and his mind went utterly blank.

Pregnant?