Chapter 2

Elara woke up with a dull ache behind her eyes.

For a moment, she didn’t remember why her chest felt so heavy, why sleep had clung to her like a curse. Then last night's memories rushed back.

The white roses, melted candles, a club filled with laughter and her husband with another woman.

She lay still, staring at the white ceiling, her body unusually tired, her limbs slow to even respond. Even lifting her hand felt like a tough effort. She told herself it was just exhaustion. A bad night. Too many emotions.

Her phone vibrated on the bedside table.It was a notification. She reached for it without thinking and froze.

Nathaniel had posted on his social media for the first time.

Elara’s fingers tightened around the phone as she stared at the screen, disbelief washing over her. In their three years of marriage, he had never posted anything personal. Not even once. No pictures. No captions. No acknowledgments.

Yet there it was today. A photo taken under warm lights, too intimate to be accidental. Nathaniel stood beside a woman dressed in white, her head tilted slightly toward him, her smile soft and familiar.

The same woman from the club.

The same woman whose hand had rested on his arm as if it belonged there.

The caption was short and simple: Some things don’t change.

Elara’s throat tightened. Her eyes dropped to the comments where his friends were casually dropping comments, calling them a match made in heaven.

And then she saw it.

Melissa.

The name sat there casually, tagged beneath the picture, glowing on her screen like a brand burned into her skin.

The face from last night finally had a name. Nathanief's first love. The woman everyone had talked behind her back but never mentioned in front of her. The one Nathaniel had never truly let go of.

So this was her.

Elara scrolled further, her heart sinking with every line. His friends joked openly, as if the past three years hadn’t existed. As if Elara hadn’t existed.

Someone commented, “Looks like the real couple is back.”

Her vision blurred for a second. She exited the app and immediately dialed Nathaniel’s number.

It rang. Once. Twice. Then stopped.

There was no answer. She didn’t try again.

Elara placed the phone face down on the bed and sat there quietly, breathing in and out, forcing herself to remain steady. Her hands trembled, but her face stayed calm. She wouldn’t cry. Not over this. Not in a house where she already felt like a guest.

The day passed slowly.

By evening, the mansion felt colder than it did usually, its vast halls echoing with an unfamiliar emptiness. Elara was standing near the staircase when she heard the front door open.

Footsteps. More than one pair. She looked up.

Nathaniel walked in first, his expression unreadable, his suit immaculate as always. And beside him was Melissa with a sweet smile on her face.

Up close, she looked even softer than she had under the club lights. She looked graceful, gentle, and soft. A woman, men instinctively protected and cared for.

For a brief second, Melissa hesitated when she saw Elara, something like awkwardness flashing across her face. But Nathaniel stepped in as if protecting the woman.

Finally he spoke. “Melissa’s place is being renovated,” he said evenly. “She’ll stay here for a while.”

And just like that it was done. No discussion with Elara. No warning. No talk.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” she asked calmly, but the anger underneath was sharp.

Nathaniel’s gaze didn’t waver.

“You don’t need to be informed about every decision,” he said.

Elara’s voice remained steady. “I am your wife.”

Nathaniel’s eyes slid toward her for a second, cold. “You are my wife by law,” he said quietly. “Not by choice.”

Elara felt something inside her go eerily quiet.

Melissa offered a polite smile. “I hope you don’t mind, Elara,” she said sweetly. “I didn’t want to trouble you.”

Elara’s smile was thin as she replied.

“I’m sure you didn’t.”

Melissa’s eyes flicked toward Elara’s face, and she pretended to be concerned.

“You look tired,” Melissa said softly. “Are you feeling well?”

Elara blinked back seeing the woman who doesn't even know her acting concerned.

“I’m fine.” She said quietly.

Melissa nodded, but then she leaned in slightly and said in a whisper that only Elara could hear.

“I’m sorry if I’m making things difficult. I don’t want to come between you two… but I’ve waited for him for so long.”

Elara froze. Melissa’s voice sounded gentle, but the meaning was poisonous.

Elara looked at Nathaniel. He didn’t meet her eyes. The servant came forward to take Melissa’s luggage. As they walked past her, Elara noticed something small, almost insignificant. Melissa’s hand brushing Nathaniel’s sleeve unconsciously like it had done so many times before her.

Elara remained where she was long after they disappeared down the corridor.

Only then did the truth settle in, painful, and undeniable that last night hadn’t been a mistake. The post hadn’t been thoughtless. And bringing Melissa into this house wasn’t temporary.

Nathaniel hadn’t just chosen his past. He had chosen to erase Elara.

And Elara understood something else too, standing alone in the silence of a house that no longer felt like home.

***

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