Chapter 3

Holden's enraged roar echoed through the silent mansion as I walked away, but I didn't stop. I kept moving, each step propelling me further from the gilded cage he called our home. His frustration was a hollow sound now, powerless to touch the core of ice that had formed around my heart.

When I finally reached the kitchen, the divorce papers I' d left on the counter were torn to shreds. Tiny white confetti scattered across the pristine marble, a stark visual representation of his refusal. He wouldn't let me go. He truly believed he could keep me captive, a pregnant doll to fulfill his cold-blooded plans.

Confusion warred with my anger. Why cling to this charade? Why not just let me go, claim I was an unfit mother, and take the child? Unless... unless the optics were too bad. Unless he needed the image of a grieving widower, a loving father robbed of his wife, to gain sympathy for Anika and their fabricated future.

My phone buzzed, vibrating against my numb fingers. Anika McCall. My stomach lurched. I almost dropped the phone. What fresh hell was she sending now?

It was a picture. A picture of Anika, delicate and ethereal in a flowing silk dress, her head resting on Holden' s shoulder. His arm was wrapped protectively around her, his hand resting on her waist, just above her hip. The background was blurry, but I recognized the private beach house where Holden and I had spent our honeymoon.

But it wasn't just a picture. There was a message.

He' s so worried about you, Elinor. He thinks your pregnancy might be affecting your judgment. Don't worry, I'm here to comfort him.

My blood ran cold. She wasn' t just flaunting their affair; she was actively trying to torment me, to assert her claim. She saw me as a means to an end, a temporary inconvenience. And the casual cruelty of her words, painting me as unstable, was a calculated blow. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Another message popped up, a second picture. It was a close-up this time. Anika's hand, perfectly manicured, was holding a small, intricately carved wooden bird. I knew that bird. It was a gift I' d spent weeks designing and crafting for Holden, a symbol of freedom and flight, a nod to his love for aviation. He had always kept it on his bedside table.

And there, clearly visible on Anika' s ring finger, was my wedding ring. The simple platinum band Holden had given me seven years ago.

The nausea hit me with full force. It wasn't just the betrayal; it was the sheer audacity, the deliberate psychological warfare. She wasn't an innocent ingénue; she was a predator, preying on my vulnerabilities, reveling in her victory.

He said it was never really yours to begin with, Elinor. Just a temporary loan.

The words swam before my eyes. A temporary loan. My marriage, my life, my love-all just a temporary loan from Holden to me, until Anika was ready to claim it. The realization settled deep in my gut, cold and hard. I wasn't just his vessel; I was her placeholder. A stand-in. A surrogate wife, a surrogate mother.

I stumbled to the bathroom, dry-heaving into the porcelain. My body convulsed, but there was nothing left to expel. Only the bitter taste of bile and the burning humiliation. I looked in the mirror, my reflection pale and gaunt, dark circles under my eyes. My once vibrant spirit felt extinguished, replaced by a hollow shell. My belly, so full of life, felt alien, a ticking clock counting down to my undoing.

A surge of pure, unadulterated rage coursed through me. I grabbed my phone, my fingers flying across the screen.

You want my life? You can have this empty shell. But you will never, ever have my son. Not over my dead body. And trust me, Anika, you'll wish it was.

The phone rang immediately. Holden. His name flashed on the screen, a red warning sign. I remembered all the times he' d called to berate me, to control me, even when he was with her. To ensure I stayed in my place.

I pressed 'reject,' then 'block contact.' One less tie.

I called the moving service Jonathan had recommended. "I need to move out," I stated, my voice clipped, emotionless. "As soon as possible. Tomorrow morning."

"We can accommodate that, ma'am," the man on the other end said, his voice surprisingly calm. "Just let us know what you're taking."

"Just my personal effects," I replied, glancing around the opulent bedroom. The expensive furniture, the designer clothes, the glittering jewelry-none of it meant anything to me now. It was all part of the charade, a payment for my silence, for my role in his "arrangement."

I packed a single suitcase. Clothes, a few books, my worn-out drawing sketchbook. The rest, the trappings of my supposed wealth, I left behind.

As the moving truck pulled away the next morning, I took one last look at the mansion. It wasn't a home. It was a tomb, a gilded mausoleum where my love had died a slow, painful death. Now, it was a prison that I was finally escaping. A fragile sense of freedom, like a whisper on the wind, touched me.

My new apartment was small, sparsely furnished, but it was mine. I placed a small potted plant on the windowsill, a symbol of new beginnings. The sun streamed in, warm and inviting. For the first time in years, I felt a flicker of hope.

The phone rang again. It was a restricted number. I knew it was Holden. He must have used a different phone. I almost didn't answer, but a strange curiosity compelled me.

"Elinor! What the hell do you think you're doing?" His voice was a furious snarl. "Anika just called me, hysterical! What did you say to her?"

"The truth," I replied, my voice calm, almost detached. "That I'm leaving. That I'm divorcing you."

"Are you insane?" he roared. "You think you can just walk away? And after what you said to Anika? She's distraught! Her heart condition, Elinor, she's fragile!"

His concern for Anika, his absolute disregard for my pain, solidified my resolve. "Her heart condition isn't my problem, Holden. And neither is your distress. I'm through being your convenient wife, your surrogate, your placeholder."

"You will come home, Elinor," he said, his voice dropping to that dangerous, controlling tone. "You will come home and you will give birth to my child. This is non-negotiable."

"You want my child?" I asked, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "You can beg, Holden. You can grovel. But you will never, ever get him. Not from me."

I hung up, then blocked that number too. I would let them have each other. Let them have their lies, their arrangements, their twisted version of a family. I was done. I was finally, irrevocably done.