The Corner

Chapter Three – The Corner

Elena’s POV

The moment Daniel dragged me into the corner, my heart began pounding so loudly that I was certain anyone nearby could hear it, the sound echoing in my chest as his grip tightened around my arm with a force that made me wince, though I said nothing, because the sting against my skin was insignificant compared to the ache spreading slowly through my chest.

“Why did you come here?” he hissed under his breath, his voice low but sharp with irritation. “Why, Elena? Must you always find a way to disgrace me?”

My lips trembled as I struggled to steady my voice, even though everything inside me felt like it was slipping out of control. “Daniel… remember your mother called me, and I only came because it’s your birthday. I just… I just wanted to be here for you.”

He let out a bitter, humorless laugh, shaking his head as though my presence alone offended him. “If you had signed those divorce papers earlier, none of this would have happened. Don’t you understand? I don’t want someone who constantly embarrasses me in front of others. You’re… nothing but a burden.”

The words sank into me slowly, painfully, as though they were being carved into something fragile inside me, and for a moment, my knees felt too weak to hold my weight, forcing me to press my hand against the wall just to remain standing.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to ask the question that had been tearing at me since I saw them together, even though a part of me was already afraid of the answer. “Who… who is that woman, Daniel?”

He didn’t hesitate, not even for a second. “I’ve told you before. She’s my childhood friend.”

The simplicity of his answer made it hurt even more.

I bit down on my lower lip until I tasted blood, my voice barely above a whisper as I repeated, “Childhood friend?” My eyes burned, but I refused to let the tears fall, not yet, not in front of him. “Daniel, you held her hand… something you have never done for me, not once. Do you know how many nights I stayed awake hoping you would look at me the way you looked at her today? Do you know how long I waited for even the smallest sign that I mattered to you?”

The memories came rushing back without warning, filling the silence between us.

I remembered the early days, when I first started working under his company, when everything felt uncertain but hopeful at the same time, when he would call me into his office under the excuse of work and speak to me in a tone that felt almost gentle, almost personal, even though I did not yet understand what any of it meant.

I remembered how I used to stay late, working on designs that no one asked for, simply because I wanted to prove myself, and how one evening he had noticed, standing there quietly as I worked without realizing I was being watched, his presence unexpected and overwhelming in a way that made my heart race for reasons I could not explain.

Back then, I thought it meant something.

I thought he saw me.

I thought… I was special.

But I had not known anything about another woman, not then, not even later, not until after I had already married him and stepped into a life I believed I had chosen, only to realize that there were parts of his world that had never included me at all.

“I thought…” my voice broke softly as I forced the words out, “I thought what we had meant something to you.”

Daniel’s expression did not change, and that, more than anything, made the truth unbearable.

He looked away briefly, his jaw tightening, as though even this conversation was more than he wanted to deal with.

Still, I continued, because stopping now would mean accepting everything without question, and I wasn’t ready for that yet. “She’s everything you want, isn’t she? Smart, beautiful, confident… everything I am not. And I…” I let out a shaky breath. “I’m just the mistake you regret every single day.”

This time, he looked at me, and the coldness in his eyes felt sharper than anything he had said so far.

“Then do me a favor, Elena,” he said slowly, each word deliberate and heavy. “Since you already know that much, give me the one thing I actually want. Sign the divorce papers and free me.”

The world seemed to tilt slightly, my breath catching as though the air had suddenly disappeared around me, leaving me struggling to inhale.

“Daniel…” I tried, but my voice failed me.

He didn’t wait for anything else, didn’t give me the chance to say more or ask why, because he had already decided that none of it mattered. He simply turned and walked away, leaving me standing there alone, as though I had never meant anything to him at all.

The moment he disappeared from sight, the strength I had been holding onto shattered completely.

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to muffle the sobs that threatened to escape, my body trembling as the tears I had been holding back finally fell, one after another, until I could no longer tell where the pain began or ended.

I wanted to ask him why, I wanted to ask him what I had done wrong, I wanted to ask him why he had chosen me at all, if he had never intended to stay.

But deep down, I already knew the answer would not change anything.

After what felt like an endless stretch of time, I forced myself to calm down, wiping my face with unsteady hands even though my eyes were swollen and my chest still ached with every breath.

I could not let them see me like this. Not his mother, not his sister, and d certainly not her.

Taking a slow, shaky breath, I straightened my dress and lifted my head, forcing myself to gather what little strength I had left, even though my heart still felt like it was breaking piece by piece.

Then, without giving myself time to think, I walked back toward the table where they were all waiting, carrying my shattered heart with me as though it were something no one else could see.