Chapter 2 — I Don’t Want a Divorce

Morning came without truly giving Elara time to rest. The clock on the wall already showed seven twenty when she finally came down from her room, her steps slow, her body still feeling exhausted after spending the entire night barely able to close her eyes.

She paused for a moment in front of the dining table. The glass of milk she had prepared earlier had already started to grow cold.

Before she could even pull out a chair, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Elara frowned slightly, a little puzzled. “Who could it be this early in the morning…” she murmured, then walked toward the door.

But the moment the door opened, her steps came to an immediate halt.

Three people were standing there—the people she knew the most, and at the same time, the very people she least wanted to see.

Who else could it be but Ryan Yoris, her father, Vina Estelle, her stepmother, and Vania Yoris, her stepsister.

For a moment, Elara simply stood there in silence. Then, as usual, she put on a faint smile that seemed forced.

“What brings you here so early?” she asked flatly, though her tone still sounded polite. “Is there something urgent?”

Vina and Vania did not answer the question. Instead, the two women from different generations stepped inside first without waiting to be invited, as if the house did not belong to Elara at all.

“We came to discuss something important,” Vina said shortly.

Ryan entered behind her. His face remained the same as always—cold and expressionless. There was not even a greeting, as if Elara were nothing more than a stranger who had happened to open the door for him.

The atmosphere had just turned awkward when the sound of footsteps came from the stairs.

Mike came down wearing a gray shirt, his hair still slightly damp. His expression was calm as usual, but the moment his eyes caught sight of Vania, something changed quickly—subtle, yet clear enough for anyone paying attention.

And Elara… saw it.

That small change felt far more painful than any words.

“Why are you all here this early?” Mike finally asked.

Vina glanced briefly at Elara, then smiled faintly before answering, as if she had deliberately prepared her words.

“We just want to settle something that should have already been settled, now that Vania has returned.”

Elara did not answer immediately. She merely crossed her arms over her chest, looking at them one by one.

“Then just get to the point,” she said. “I don’t really like conversations with too much small talk.”

Vina gave a small nod, then looked at her directly.

“Now that Vania is back, we want you to divorce Mike.”

The sentence was spoken just like that, without hesitation, as if it were something completely normal.

Elara fell silent for a second, then instead let out a laugh as she shook her head. “Divorce?” she repeated. “So what you mean is… I have to hand over my own husband to my sister?”

She looked at each of them one by one, trying to see if anyone felt uncomfortable with what she had said.

“Do you really think this marriage is just a joke?” Elara said, then her gaze stopped on Vania. “Sorry,” she continued more calmly, “I can’t do that.”

She took a short breath, then added in a firmer tone, “Mike will forever be my husband.”

Vania’s reaction was immediate. Her hand clenched into a fist, and her face began to tense.

“Elara, don’t go too far!” Vania shouted.

Elara lifted her chin slightly, still trying to appear calm. “If I had known from the beginning that I was only a replacement, maybe I wouldn’t have said much,” she said softly, but clearly. “But now? After two years of living all of this as his wife… do you think I can just let him go like that?”

For a moment, her gaze shifted to Mike, but the man gave no response at all.

That only made it feel even more suffocating.

Vania’s face began to redden. She stepped forward with emotions she was no longer holding back, her hand raised as if she were about to slap Elara across the face.

But before it could touch her, Mike had already caught her wrist.

“Don’t do this,” he said shortly, his tone cold but firm.

Vania immediately turned to look at him, her expression changing instantly. Her eyes became glossy, her lips trembling, like someone who was truly hurt.

“Mike… she’s always like this,” she said softly. “Always taking what belongs to me…”

Elara almost laughed when she heard that.

Taking?

The word sounded so absurd that it was almost funny.

Vania bit her lip, then said in a higher voice, this time full of emotion, “If I hadn’t been paralyzed back then, I would never have asked Mike to get close to you, let alone marry you!”

Elara stared at her for a long moment, trying to process what she had just heard, then slowly smiled—not out of happiness, but because everything was starting to become clear.

“So… this really was your plan from the beginning?” she asked softly.

Her gaze briefly dropped to Vania’s legs before rising back to her face. “Interesting.”

Vania’s face instantly turned pale.

Ryan, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up.

“Elara, enough. Let Mike go.” His tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.

“Mike and Vania love each other. You should not be standing between them.”

The words felt like something pressing down from within.

Elara slowly turned toward her father. There was a brief pause before she spoke, as if she were holding something back.

“If that’s the case,” she said, “then why did Vania ask Mike to marry me in the first place?”

There was no answer.

Then she smiled faintly. “If in the end he had to be returned, why did I have to go through all of this from the beginning?”

Vina clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Because Vania was in a difficult condition at that time!”

“Elara.” Mike finally spoke. His voice was low, but enough to change the atmosphere. “Enough. Don’t be selfish.”

This time Elara turned to him quickly. “I’m selfish?” she repeated, nearly unable to believe it. “You’re the ones who made my life like this, and I’m the one being called selfish?”

Mike’s gaze hardened. “You already know now why I married you.”

Elara looked at him directly. “Yes, I already know.”

Mike took a breath, then said without hesitation, “Vania was hurt because of you.”

Elara froze. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been patient long enough,” Mike continued. “Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

Elara slowly shook her head, truly not understanding where the accusation had come from.

“Who said I hurt her?”

Vania immediately held onto Mike’s arm, as if wanting to stop him.

“Enough… don’t bring it up again,” she said weakly.

But that only made Mike even more convinced.

“Because you were the one who made Vania paralyzed,” he said coldly, “just consider all of this as your punishment.”

This time Elara did not answer immediately. She only stared at him, for a very long time, until finally a small laugh escaped her lips.

“Punishment?” she repeated softly. “So all this time, everything you did wasn’t because you wanted to, but because you wanted to punish me?”

Mike did not answer.

And his silence… was enough to explain everything.

Elara shifted her gaze to Vania, who was standing beside Mike with a weak expression, as if she were truly the victim.

But in Elara’s eyes, all of it was nothing but an act.

“I still do not agree to the divorce,” she said at last, firmly.

“Elara!” Ryan’s voice rose.

“I said no,” Elara shot back, this time without the slightest hesitation.

She looked at them one by one, slowly, as if wanting to make sure she remembered the expressions of her father, her stepmother, her stepsister, and her own husband.

Not a single one of them stood by her side.

“Then there’s nothing else to talk about,” she said softly.

She walked toward the door, then opened it wide.

“The three of you, please leave.”

Vina frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I won’t repeat myself,” Elara replied. “If you came only to force me to hand over my husband, then you do not need to be here.”

“Elara, don’t be rude!” Ryan barked.

But Elara remained standing where she was.

“And you,” she said while looking at Vania, “stop pretending to be the victim.”

Vania’s face instantly changed. She clung to Mike’s arm, her voice trembling.

“Mike… I’m scared…”

Mike immediately responded, his arm wrapping around Vania by reflex, his voice softening in a way Elara had never heard before.

“It’s okay. I’ll settle this as soon as possible.”

Elara’s breath seemed to stop all at once, her chest feeling as if something sharp had pierced it. She looked at Mike, but the man did not even look in her direction. All of Mike’s attention was focused on Vania, who was leaning against his arm in a spoiled manner. The sight burned Elara’s heart.

Yet her lips curved into a smile instead. A cold smile. The smile of a woman who had been hurt far too deeply.

“Fine,” she said inwardly while clenching her fist behind her back. “Just wait and see… who will be the one hurt in the end.”

“Out!” Elara shouted.

Ryan clicked his tongue in annoyance, then turned and left. Vina followed with a face full of displeasure. Vania was still clinging to Mike, as if unwilling to let go.

Before leaving, she turned and gave Elara a faint smile. A victorious smile.

But Elara returned it with a flat stare.

“Vania Yoris, this battle has only just begun. And this time, I will not lose so easily,” Elara thought.