Chapter 4

Elara's eyes burned with anger. "Rhys, where did you get that video? Delete it. Now."

Rhys had never imagined this would be her reaction. But he wasn't afraid. He met her gaze head-on. "Give me one reason."

Elara's jaw tightened, her voice sharp with barely contained fury. "Asher just lost his footing and instinctively grabbed for you. It was an accident, nothing more.

"That video will only twist and distort what actually happened. Are you keeping it because you want to frame him?"

Rhys actually laughed at her accusation.

Maybe Asher was right. In Elara's mind, he really was the kind of person who'd stoop that low. She had never respected him. He was the only one stupid enough to pour out everything he had.

"Elara, when you thought I pushed him down those stairs, you told me to apologize, or you wouldn't sign the consent form for my surgery. But when he's the one who pulled me down, you call it an accident."

Rhys's lips curled into a cold smile. "How is that fair?"

Elara froze. She could feel something important slipping through her fingers. Her voice dropped. "What consent form?"

Rhys didn't answer.

Elara's frown deepened. Her gaze finally landed on Rhys's face, and the color seemed to drain from her own, though the realization came far too late.

"What happened to you? It's just a few scrapes, isn't it? You're being dramatic."

"That's none of your concern." Rhys's voice was flat, and then it turned sharp.

"Asher sent me down a flight of stairs, and he's going to pay an equal price for it. If he doesn't, I will release the video to the public."

"Rhys Lockhart!" Elara's attention snapped away instantly. Her expression turned dangerous, and the cold that came off her was enough to freeze the room.

"Do you have to be this unreasonable? Asher is a victim too. His knees and the backs of his hands are scraped raw. He's in so much pain he can't even sleep. Isn't that enough?"

Rhys's heart clenched. He'd been telling himself, over and over, to stop holding on to any hope when it came to Elara. But there was still something lodged in his chest, thick and aching, that he couldn't swallow past.

Asher had a few scrapes, and Elara was beside herself with worry. Meanwhile, Rhys was covered in injuries from head to toe, wrapped in stark white bandages, and she hadn't even glanced at them.

The favoritism was so lopsided it was almost grotesque, like an invisible hand closing around his throat and squeezing the life out of him.

"My terms are on the table." He lowered his eyes, unwilling to let her see how close he was to breaking.

"Meet them, or get out."

After a moment of silence, Elara's voice came back, cold and even. "I'll take his place."

Rhys's thoughts ground to a halt. "What did you just say? You're pregnant!"

"So?" Elara looked toward the bay window, calm as ever.

"If this child wants to be mine, it had better learn to fight for its own survival. If it can't handle that much, I wouldn't want it even after it's born.

"I jump for Asher. You delete the video."

"Fine." Where Elara couldn't see, Rhys's fingers were gripping the bedsheets so hard his knuckles had gone white.

He'd already known Elara didn't see their child as something born from love. To her, the baby was just another tool, another burden she could discard whenever it suited her.

Maybe the child was never supposed to exist at all.

Rhys's eyes stung with a dry, searing ache. He forced out every word with everything he had. "Of course. Go ahead."

Elara nodded. She glanced at the open ground below, and without a second of hesitation, she jumped. The sound of impact hit first, heavy and final, followed immediately by the screams of passersby.

Rhys's mind went blank. He made his way to the bay window, slowly, and looked down.

He saw the blood pooling out from beneath Elara's body. A fall like that should have been enough to make anyone lose consciousness from the pain alone, but Elara showed no sign of distress. She simply tilted her head up and looked straight at Rhys, her expression as calm and unreadable as ever.

Those still, unwavering eyes seemed to say one thing. "I've paid my price. Now hold up your end."

Rhys stepped back. He pulled out his phone in a daze and deleted the video.

The moment the screen went dark, tears hit without warning. He wiped at them frantically, but the more he wiped, the more they came, and a bitter wave of self-contempt swallowed him whole.

So, this was how deep Elara's love for Asher ran, so fierce and absolute that she wouldn't think twice about throwing away her own life.