Chapter 2

Elena's POV

I had barely stepped into the stairwell when the click of heels echoed behind me.

"I thought so," Lilian said lightly. "I thought I saw you back there."

My fingertips stilled. I could already smell that cloying perfume.

"So it really was you."

Lilian stood on the landing, one hand resting on the railing, the other still cradling her stomach. The fragile act she had put on for Ryan was gone. Her expression was relaxed—almost entertained.

"Hospitals are such busy, chaotic places." She tilted her head. "Standing there watching like that—did it hurt?"

I turned slowly to face her.

"Well?" She looked me up and down, her gaze anything but kind. "Now you finally know what it looks like when Ryan is actually happy."

My throat tightened. I said nothing.

Lilian seemed pleased by my silence, and kept going.

"Shouldn't you be grateful?" she said softly. "Without me, you'd have gone your whole life without ever seeing him smile like that."

She let out a gentle sigh, her tone edging toward something that almost sounded like pity.

My nails pressed into my palm. I watched her looking down at me from the step above, and stepped closer, lowering my voice.

"He smiles plenty around me. You're just not worth his smile."

The air seemed to drop a few degrees. I stepped forward, emotion rising in my chest despite myself.

"Are you done?"

Lilian raised an eyebrow, smugness and sarcasm in her eyes almost impossible to hide.

She had finally gotten what she wanted—watching me lose control.

"What's wrong?" she murmured. "Finally had enough?"

My chest heaved. The report in my hand was creased and crushed, my knuckles white.

"You think you've won?" I stared at her. "By crawling into someone else's marriage like this?"

The moment the words left my mouth, my hand went slack unconsciously.

The report slipped from my fingers. The pages scattered and drifted down the steps.

Lilian's gaze followed them instinctively.

The next second, her expression changed.

A brief, stunned pause crossed her face—one that was quickly replaced by something like excitement.

She bent down and picked up one of the pages, her eyes pausing on the last line for two full seconds.

Then she laughed.

The sound of it rang through the empty stairwell, sharp and jarring.

"Well, now I understand." She lifted her head, her voice laced with undisguised mockery. "No wonder you've looked so worn out lately."

"'Extreme risk of complications during delivery,'" she read aloud, drawing the words out slowly. "Looks like it's you or the baby. Tough luck."

A ringing sound filled my head. I couldn't believe the woman who had spent so long playing sweet and warm in front of Ryan was capable of this.

Before I could respond, she had straightened and let her gaze drop to my stomach.

"So your baby hates you too," she said, tilting her head. "Draining you dry just to kill you."

The world went silent with my fury.

The next second, I raised my hand and slapped her with everything I had.

The crack of it split the air in the stairwell.

Lilian stumbled back two steps, then crumpled deliberately onto the landing, clutching her face, releasing a theatrical shriek.

"Are you insane?!"

Her voice shot up immediately, breaking into sobs.

"I was just worried about you! How could you hit me? I'm pregnant!"

Almost simultaneously, a figure burst through the stairwell door.

"What are you doing?! Why are you here?"

Ryan's voice was sharp and furious.

He grabbed my wrist with a force that sent a jolt of numbness through my arm, yanking me stumbling forward.

"You pushed her?!" He stared down at me like he was looking at a stranger.

Lilian burst into tears immediately, her voice trembling.

"Ryan... don't blame her... it was my fault, I shouldn't have come to find her... as long as Elena feels better, it doesn't matter that she hit me..."

Her whole body shook slightly as she spoke, looking fragile and innocent.

Ryan's expression went completely cold.

He stepped in front of Lilian, shielding her, and turned his gaze back to me.

"Apologize," he said.

I stared at him.

"What did you just say?"

"I said apologize." He repeated it without any softness, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You hit her. She's pregnant. She's physically weaker than you—"

I laughed.

It was a quiet laugh, but I couldn't keep the sarcasm out of it.

"Do you know what she just said to me? What she said about our baby?"

I bent down and picked up the scattered report, then walked over and pressed it against his chest.

"Read this," I said. "Then blame me."

The papers hit him and slid to the floor.

Ryan glanced down briefly, then looked away before he had finished a single line.

"I don't care about that," he said. "Your hormones are all over the place, but that's no excuse to hurt someone."

"You're pregnant too. How could you be this cruel?"

That hit me like a blunt blow straight to the chest.

Cruel?

I looked at him and suddenly felt his face was completely unfamiliar.

"Three years of marriage," I said, my voice wavering slightly. "Is that really what you think of me?"

He didn't answer.

He just frowned, avoiding my eyes, impatience bleeding into his voice.

"Then what kind of person are you?" he said. "You've been completely out of line lately."

Ryan put his arm around Lilian's shoulders, pulling her close.

In that moment, I felt nothing.

Anger, hurt, pain—every feeling seemed to be cut off at the source.

I bent down and collected the scattered report pages, one by one, folding them back into order.

Then I looked up and met his eyes one last time.

"Don't hold your breath," I said. "I'm not apologizing."

"Ryan—who is actually your wife? Do you have any conscience left?" The words came out steady, without tears, without raising my voice. "Right now, you feel like a complete stranger to me."

I turned and walked out.

I didn't look back.

The stairwell door swung shut behind me, completely shutting off the last bit of possibility between us.