Chapter 2 Grandmother's Awakening

Margaret, Austin's mother, stood nearby, her face twisting with unmistakable disgust the second she saw Ella.

Austin was there, too, his back to the door. Ella’s breath hitched when she noticed his usually immaculate dress shirt was torn, revealing bruised and bloodied skin beneath. He had clearly been in a physical altercation.

He got hurt protecting Judith from the paparazzi, Ella realized, a bitter taste flooding her mouth.

"What happened to Grandmother?" Ella hurried forward, her voice trembling.

Margaret stepped into her path, her accumulated venom finally finding its target. "How dare you ask? If it weren't for your calculated schemes to trap my son, would she be in this state? Everything you have was stolen from Judith!"

A sharp pain stabbed through Ella's chest. In the eyes of the Raymond family, only the glamorous designer Judith was worthy of Austin. The three years Ella spent pulling a paralyzed Austin out of hell meant absolutely nothing.

"You've occupied a place that doesn't belong to you for long enough," Margaret sneered, looking Ella up and down like trash. "When will you finally divorce Austin and return what rightfully belongs to Judith?"

Before Ella could defend herself, a weak cough broke the tension. Karen fluttered her eyes open.

"Grandmother!" Ella rushed to her side, carefully propping her up with a pillow.

"Grandmother," Austin stepped forward, his voice complex.

Karen’s piercing gaze swept over her grandson's disheveled state before locking onto Margaret.

"Don't think that just because I'm old, I've become blind to your underhanded tactics," Karen rasped, her voice weak but carrying the undeniable authority of the Raymond matriarch. "As long as I draw breath, Ella is the only granddaughter-in-law I recognize. That homewrecker circling outside can keep dreaming!"

A sudden warmth spread through Ella's frozen heart. Karen was the only one who saw through Judith. When Austin was paralyzed, it was Judith who abandoned him to 'study abroad'. Yet, with her pretty words, she had effortlessly manipulated Austin and Margaret upon her return.

"Mother!" Margaret protested. "This marriage is a farce. If not for Austin's accident, Judith would never have left. They should divorce!"

"Enough!" Karen's voice turned icy. "I judge people by what they do, not what they say. Ella stayed when he was broken. Judith ran." She reached out, gripping Ella’s trembling hand. "My dear child, as long as I'm here, I won't allow anyone to mistreat you."

Tears pricked Ella's eyes. Being bullied and ignored had become her normal, but this genuine warmth nearly broke her defenses. She thought of the fertility pills at home. She didn't want to disappoint the only person who loved her.

But before she could speak, Austin stepped forward. The cold determination in his eyes completely shattered whatever illusion Ella had left.

"Grandmother, the media uncovered Judith's address last night. She is terrified, and I had to fight off the paparazzi just to get her to safety," Austin declared, his jaw set in stone. "I must protect her. This divorce has to happen. Now."

The room plunged into a dead silence.

He was demanding a divorce while his grandmother was barely conscious, all to protect the woman who once abandoned him. Yesterday he wanted Ella to breed his heir; today he was throwing her away to shield his true love.

Ella looked at the man she had loved for fourteen years. The fog in her mind, the one she had questioned just hours ago, completely vanished.

Instead of crying, instead of begging, Ella gently pulled her hand from Karen’s grasp and stood up. Her eyes were eerily calm as she met Austin's shocked gaze.

"Okay," Ella said softly, her voice devoid of any emotion. "Let's divorce."