Chapter 3 Replaced in My Own Home

After picking up the divorce agreement drafted by the law firm, I returned home for the first time in two years, but the moment I opened the door, I froze.

The villa's once-minimalist interior had somehow been transformed into a warm, cozy sea of pink.

The walls were covered with pictures of Leander and Celeste together. Even the corners of the tables had been carefully wrapped in protective foam.

And where our wedding photo should have been, there was now a pregnancy photo of Leander with his arm around Celeste.

The oversized photograph had been placed in the most conspicuous spot in the house, impossible to miss the moment I walked through the door. As if it were mocking me for being such a fool.

So, while I'd spent the past two years away, desperately searching for proof of Leander's affair, he had already moved Celeste into our marital home in broad daylight. And I'd been completely in the dark.

Even when he'd carved my name into his own flesh, I'd stupidly believed that he really had that many excuses for being with Celeste.

But the pregnancy photos were on the wall, and the prenatal checkup reports were on the table. He couldn't even be bothered to hide his lies.

I was still standing there in a daze when a door on the second floor suddenly opened.

Celeste came down the stairs with a bright smile, a tiny tiger-print baby shoe in one hand. "Leander, look what I found in the nursery—"

The instant Celeste saw me, she froze.

The next second, as though she'd been triggered into a panic, she dropped heavily to her knees and began frantically banging her head against the floor. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I'm a murderer. I'm sorry. Please, don't torture me anymore! It hurts! I'll go join the baby in death. Please, just let me go!"

She started to throw herself at the corner of the table, but Leander rushed over and pulled her tightly into his arms. "Seraphina, do you really have to drive Celeste to her death before you'll stop?"

His voice was so hoarse it was almost unrecognizable, filled with overwhelming terror and rage.

For the first time, I saw a desperate look on his twisted face—the despair of someone prepared to take everything down with him.

He hadn't been desperate when we'd lost Kieran.

He hadn't been desperate when I'd tried to die.

But now, all I'd done was appear in front of Celeste, and he'd nearly been driven to the brink of collapse.

At least in that moment, for Celeste's sake, he truly wanted to take me down with him.

Something stabbed through my heart like a needle, and I jerked my gaze away.

Then, my eyes fixed on the tiny tiger-print shoe in Celeste's hand. "Leander, that's Kieran's shoe."

His gaze lingered on the little shoe for two seconds before he let out a cold laugh, as though I'd said something utterly absurd.

"All this over one shoe? You're willing to kill two living people over it? Seraphina, it's been ten years. How much longer are you going to keep dwelling on someone who's already dead?

"Yes, I'm giving Kieran's nursery to Celeste's baby. From now on, Kieran's little clothes and shoes will belong to him, too.

"Kieran is dead, but Celeste's child still has a future. Can't you tell which matters more?"

It felt as though a giant hand had closed around my heart, squeezing until I could barely breathe.

In his eyes, Kieran had no future, so he deserved to be forgotten and replaced. And I wasn't important either, so I deserved to be lied to and settled for.

When I said nothing, understanding flickered across his eyes, followed by irritation. He pulled out the knife and sliced open his arm. Blood immediately welled from the wound.

This time, he carved the name "Kieran" into his flesh.

"Is that enough?"

I stared at him in a daze, but he took my silence for another act of stubbornness, and his eyes grew even more bloodshot.

He slashed across his chest again. "Still not enough?"

The third cut landed over his heart.

"What about now?"

Before he could bring the knife down a fourth time, I grabbed the blade and held on tightly.

The white-hot edge sank deep into the bones of my fingers, turning my face pale with pain.

It felt as though my heart had been cut open too, draining away the last shred of tenderness between us.

Meeting Celeste's triumphant gaze, I threw the crumpled document I'd been clutching down in front of Leander. "No more, Leander. I'll give you what you want. Let's get divorced."