Chapter 3

Elowen's POV

I looked down at the flesh and blood I had carried for nine months, my eyes so dry they couldn't shed a single tear.

Seraphine immediately pulled Iris into her embrace, her eyes red, but her voice sickeningly sweet and frail: "Iris, don't talk to Elowen like that. Even if she's jealous enough to ruin my reputation, even if she refuses to acknowledge her own daughter..."

She looked up, her gaze bypassing Iris to glare at me provocatively: "Elowen, if you get on your knees right now, swear to the Moon Goddess that you orchestrated this scandal, and publicly apologize to me, I’ll ask Soren to forgive you."

"You want me to kneel?" I sneered, ripping off the bloody bandage and tossing it onto the rug. "Keep dreaming, Seraphine."

"Elowen!" Seraphine instantly broke down, tears streaming down her face. "I’ve already compromised so much! You killed my baby out of jealousy, robbing me of my right to be a mother forever, and I still forgave you! Why do you keep pushing me?!"

She turned around, pretending to be in agonizing pain. "Since there's no place for me here, I'll just leave!"

She barely took a step before Soren's strong arm swept her up into his embrace.

Soren glared down at me, his eyes icy and radiating a ruthless, violent aura.

"Cora! Take Iris away!" he barked.

After Iris was carried out, only the three of us remained in the hallway. Soren pinned me against the doorframe by my throat, his voice freezing. "You really do have cheap blood in your veins. Seraphine can no longer bear children because of you, and you still want to trample her dignity? Apologize!"

My bones ached. I looked at this man who once swore he'd love me with his life and said slowly, word by word, "I would rather die than bow to her."

"Good, very good." Soren threw me aside, a cruel smirk playing on his lips. "Tonight, I'll show you exactly how I'll compensate Sera."

He scooped up the trembling Seraphine in his arms and walked straight toward the master bedroom.

"Bring her here and leave her outside my door!" he roared at the guards. "If she dares to close her eyes, break her legs!"

The next ten hours were absolute hell.

I was forced to sit on the floor outside the half-open main bedroom door, my shoulders pinned down by two burly guards. From inside came the scorching pants of entangled bodies and filthy dirty talk.

"Soren... she's still watching outside..." Seraphine's seductive voice drifted through the crack.

"Ignore that toxic bitch. Let her watch. She needs to learn who the real mistress of this manor is." Soren growled, accompanied by sickening noises.

I stared blankly at that lavish, massive bed.

Maids walked by carrying water basins and towels, deliberately slowing their pace.

"See that? That's what happens when you overestimate yourself."

"An Omega with no background, daring to compete with Madam Seraphine?"

"Kneeling like a stray dog outside, watching her husband fuck someone else... If I were her, I’d have killed myself from shame."

Their unrestrained mockery pounded my face like muddy boots.

I don't know how long it had been, but a young, unfamiliar maid walked over trembling. With red-rimmed eyes, she sneakily offered me a warm towel to wipe the dried blood off my palm.

"Madam... please clean your hands," she whispered, her voice choking with tears.

I calmly pushed her hand away, keeping my back straight, "I'm fine."

Through the crack in the door, I watched Soren passionately kiss Seraphine's neck. In a daze, I remembered seven years ago when Alaric tried to assault me. It was Soren who threw himself in front of me, telling me: "Elowen, don't be afraid. I'd die before I let him touch you!"

The Soren of the past, who was willing to break his bones for me, was now stripping away my dignity in the most vile way possible, tossing it into the mud.

A profound sense of absurdity washed over me. At this moment, my heart suddenly stopped hurting.

That pathetic obsession I had clung to for seven years completely vanished into ashes alongside the final loud moan from behind the door.

Dawn broke.

The guards finally released their grip on my shoulders and left. The room fell into dead silence as they slept.

I stood up, brushed the dust off my dress, walked back to the maid's quarters, and picked up the suitcase from last night. I took out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago and placed them neatly on the vanity desk.

When I reached the top of the second-floor stairs, a small figure in a nightgown was standing there.

It was Iris.

She looked at me holding the suitcase, a flicker of anxiety crossing her little face.

"Where are you going?" she bit her lip, her voice very faint.

I didn't answer her. I just brushed past her decisively and walked out of the gates of Ravenscar Manor without looking back.