All Chapters of Home At Last: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

As the icy water rushed over my face, the bone-chilling cold seeped into every limb.My body ached.But I felt only relief.I closed my eyes and waited for the suffocation to take me—when suddenly, a hand with brutal force grabbed me from behind and yanked me back to the edge.Through blurred vision, I saw Nathan Hartwell's eyes rimmed red. His voice carried a tremor he didn't even seem to notice."I said a few words to you—was that really worth going this far?"He reached out to carry me to the private doctor.But the moment his fingers brushed my soaked clothes, Vivian Gray's sobs cut through the air like a knife.Tears streamed down her face. She looked so fragile, a gust of wind could have knocked her over."Elena, if you resent me, if you hate me—come at me. Why do this to yourself?"I've felt guilty ever since we sisters got separated as children, and you ended up in that life. Seeing you like this now just breaks my heart..."She reached out to steady me.Afraid she

Chapter 2

The moment the servants scattered, the last wisp of air left my lungs.My soul drifted weightlessly out of my body.I hovered in a daze, half-transparent, and softly asked the system in my mind, 'Can you transmit me now? I want to go home.'But the system's mechanical voice was flat and unyielding: [Only once the male and female leads acknowledge your death can you exit this world.]I paused for a moment, then let it go. I'd survived decades—what was a little more waiting?I was certain that Nathan, who couldn't stand to be apart from me for even a minute back then, would come looking for me like a madman within half an hour at most.But I waited from dawn to dusk, and from dusk until ice formed on the pool. His familiar figure never appeared.Something hollowed out in my chest. Against my will, I drifted toward the villa.The moment I passed through the door, a warm scene unfolded before me.Nathan had his arm gently around Vivian, leaning down to teach her how to paint.Our

Chapter 3

That night, I completely fell apart.At the Hartwell family banquet, I went mad—overturning tables, smashing everything within reach. Shards of glass sliced across my arms, and blood instantly soaked through my sleeves.Nathan rushed over, pulling me into his arms, his face full of anguish and regret. He even pounded his own chest with his fists."Elena, I was drugged. I never meant to betray you."His voice was low, pleading, every word earnest.But once I'd calmed down slightly, his tone turned heavy. "Vivian was wronged. I have to take responsibility for her."He said he'd only make Vivian his wife for five years.I refused—refused with everything I had.In those days, I raged at him day and night, each word dripping with blood and tears. I called him ungrateful, a traitor to the vows he'd made, someone who'd turned into another woman's refuge in the blink of an eye.He tried to soothe me with patience, but he never wavered.Not until I nearly killed myself from self-harm

Chapter 4

Now, I was truly dead.And the moment Nathan found out, I could leave this world for good.So why should I keep grieving over everything that came before?I brushed away the last trace of dampness at the corner of my eye, turned my back on the ruined peach grove, and felt nothing—not a single ripple in my heart.Over the next few days, I drifted like an outsider, watching the three of them—father, mother, son—live their perfect, harmonious life.No one in the Hartwell household mentioned me. No one noticed I was gone.Not that it surprised me. After all, my living quarters were in a storage room in a small building several hundred yards from the main villa. Hardly anyone ever went there. It made perfect sense that no one knew I'd died.And Vivian, of course, wouldn't let me be forgotten for long. She'd make sure Nathan grew to despise me completely before she was satisfied.But there was one thing I never expected: The first person to find my body was the very boy I'd protected

Chapter 5

The words hit Nathan like a thunderclap, freezing him in place. For a moment, he couldn't believe his own ears.But then his gaze fell on the lifeless body in Sebastian's arms.The color drained from his usually stoic face in an instant. His chest felt like it was being crushed by an invisible fist—so tight that his throat closed up, and he couldn't force out a single word.Beside him, young Nathan Jr.'s face went pale as ash. He bit down hard on his lip, refusing—refusing with every fiber of his being—to accept what he was seeing.He'd prayed to every god he could think of, countless times, wishing me gone. Wishing me dead.And yet, every single time, I'd always been there—alive, right in front of him.This time couldn't be real. It just couldn't.Clinging to his last shred of defiance, the boy let out a sharp scoff and lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with a fierce grip. "Elena, what kind of act is this? Just trying to win sympathy, make Dad and me feel guilty, isn't that it?

Chapter 6

Now, I was truly dead.From now on, no more clinging. No more tears. No more fights.After five long years, the three of us—father, mother, son—were finally together again.And for once, there was no arguing. No shouting. No chaos.All they'd ever wanted, night and day, was for me to be quiet. To behave myself. To stop disturbing their peaceful little world.Now, I'd done exactly what they asked. I lay there, silent and still, forever.And yet, their hearts felt strangely hollow. Not a trace of the relief they'd expected.No one knew how long they stood there, frozen in that suffocating silence. Finally, Sebastian had seen enough of their hypocritical grief. He bent down, lifted me into his arms, and turned to leave."Sebastian, where are you taking my wife?"Nathan snapped out of his daze and lunged forward to stop him, but Sebastian's security detail emerged from every corner, blocking his path. He couldn't move an inch.Sebastian didn't slow down. His gaze was razor-sharp

Chapter 7

At those words, Vivian cried out in protest, pleading her innocence over and over.But Nathan didn't ask another question. The last trace of warmth in his eyes flickered out, and deep down, he'd already made up his mind.He turned and walked away, his voice flat and cold as he gave the order, "Investigate."Nathan Jr. swallowed the comforting words that had been forming on his lips—they died in his throat.In that moment, as he looked at that pitiful, tear-streaked face, a strange revulsion rose in his chest—something he couldn't explain.Ignoring Vivian's desperate, pleading gaze, he said nothing and trudged silently after his father.The days that followed, waiting for the truth, were agonizing.The Hartwell mansion was suffocating, the atmosphere heavy enough to crush anyone inside.Father and son sat in silence, opposite each other like two icebergs—cold, distant, wordless.Vivian tried to see them multiple times, but the guards at the door turned her away every single tim

Chapter 8

Vivian's downfall came swift and merciless.The divorce papers slammed across her face stripped away her carefully crafted mask of fragility in an instant.Scorn and curses rained down from every direction. The sycophants who once clung to her scattered like startled birds. In a single night, the once-glorious Mrs. Hartwell became the most reviled woman in high society—a venomous schemer exposed for all to see.Her reputation in ruins, her life became worse than that of any commoner.Nathan and young Nathan Jr. said nothing. They refused to hear another word of her excuses.In the days that followed, they did only one thing: turn her own poison back on her.She loved playing the victim—so they threw her into a filthy, rat-infested basement, starving and freezing in the dark.She'd falsely accused Elena of cursing her—so they had needles and talismans pinned to her body, trapping her in nightly nightmares and madness.She'd stopped at nothing to steal everything from Elena—so th

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