Chapter 7 Custody, Battle, Threat.

He leaves the apartment.

He left me standing there with his father's words still echoing in my ears.

Marcian wants the baby.

He wants to erase me.

I sat in silence after he left, clutching the tiny bump beneath my palm like it's my only shield.

He didn't call.

He didn't come back.

Not that night. Not the next day either.

Eliora does, though.

She shows up at the apartment, uninvited and smug.

"You look tired," she says, walking in without asking.

"What do you want?"

"To make things easier."

"For who?"

"For all of us."

She sits, legs crossed, perfect as always.

"You're in no condition to raise a child. Not alone. Not with the media dragging your name."

"I'm not giving you my baby."

She shrugs. "Don't make this hard."

"You mean like you made it hard for me?"

"This isn't about revenge, Eliana. It's about doing the smart thing."

"I'm not signing away my rights."

"You might not have a choice."

"Adrian won't let you."

She laughs. "He's not as sure of you as you think."

I didn't respond.

She leans forward. "Do you really believe he'll choose the girl who lied to him over the one who's still legally his wife?"

"I believe he'll choose what's right."

"Then he'll choose me."

She walks out with a wink and slams the door.

I curled up on the couch and cried until I fell asleep.

He came by two days later.

It was raining.

He looked exhausted.

"I had to go to the board," he said.

"And?"

"They're giving Marcian three days. If I don't prove the heir is mine, they'll vote him in."

My hands were shaken. "What does he want with our child?"

"He wants to claim illegitimacy. Then take control while we're buried in scandal."

He whispered, "I can't fight him alone."

"You won't."

"But you haven't been there."

"I've been trying to keep the company alive."

"And us?"

He looked away.

"I don't know what we are right now."

My throat tightens.

You see it.

He knelt down in front of me.

"I'm sorry."

"I didn't want it to go this far."

"I know."

We sat in silence.

I ask the question that's been killing me slowly.

"Do you still love me?"

He looked up.

"I don't know if I ever stopped."

I started crying again.

He held me.

And for a moment, we're not pretending.

But that night, I overheard his call with his father.

"She can't keep living there, Dad. She's carrying my child."

I press my ear closer to the wall.

"No, I'm not bringing her back. Eliora is still in the mansion. If I bring Eliana in now, it'll blow up worse."

Pause.

"I'll find somewhere safe for her."

My heart cracks again.

He still didn't choose me.

You choose safety.

The next morning, he came with keys.

"A new apartment. Not far from the hospital. Full security. Vanessa helped arrange it."

I wanted to say no.

But I was too tired.

He helped me move.

Eliora sends a message.

"Don't get too comfortable".

The new apartment was beautiful. Cold.

He stayed for dinner.

We barely ate

He looked at me across the table.

"I hate this."

"Me too."

"I just need time to fix it."

"We are running out of time, Adrian."

We don't talk about love anymore.

Only problems.

The next day, I was scheduled for a check-up.

He was in meetings. Again.

Vanessa picks me up instead.

"You're glowing," she says.

"I feel like a balloon."I sighed

"Still. Glowing."

The doctor was a kind one.

The scan shows a strong heartbeat.

"Healthy baby," she says.

I exhaled.

But when I walked out, paparazzi were waiting.

Shouting.

Flashing lights.

Is it true you tricked Adrian into marriage?

Who's the real mother of the heir?

Where's the legal wife?

Security rushes us inside.

Vanessa is furious.

"They found the clinic."

"How?"

"Someone tipped them off."

"Eliora."

"Most likely."

He called an hour later.

"I'm filing a restraining order. You'll be protected."

"I don't want protection."

"I want peace."

"I'll give you both."He said softly

But peace doesn't come.

The next day, Marcian holds a press conference.

I sat in the living room and watched it on TV.

He says the family's name has been violated.

That the child cannot be trusted to carry the legacy.

That Adrian's failure to uphold the original marriage agreement is grounds for removal.

That he's filing for emergency custodial oversight... of a child not yet born.

I screamed.

He didn't show up that night.

Vanessa does.

"We need to get ahead of this."

"How?"

"A joint interview. You and Adrian. Tell the truth. Your version."

"He won't do it."

"Then do it alone."

"No."

I touched my stomach.

"I won't drag my child through more media hell."

She looks at me.

"You may not have a choice."

That night, I called him.

It rang.

And rang.

No answer.

I sat on the balcony, wondering where he was.

Wondering if he was with her.

Wondering if he had given up on us.

Then the pain hits.

Like a knife, twisting low in my belly.

I gasp.

My water didn't break.

But it felt wrong.

Wrong in every way.

I called Vanessa.

She rushed over.

We drove to the hospital.

Doctors swarmed me.

His name was on my emergency contact form.

They called him,but he didn't answer.

They tried again.

Still no response.

The pain doubles.

I screamed.

Tears blurred my vision.

Vanessa holds my hand.

"Breathe, Eliana. Just breathe."

Doctors shout over each other.

Words I couldn't hold on to.

Bleeding.

Early labor.

Stress.

I beg them to save my baby.

They say they'll try.

He didn't come.

But Eliora did.

She walks into the hospital room like it's a fashion show.

"I heard you were weak."

"Get out," Vanessa snaps.

"I'm just here to claim what's mine."

"This isn't your child."

"It's not yours either."

"Security-" Vanessa shouts.

But before anyone could move, he arrived.

Finally,

He pushed past the guards.

His eyes landed on me, pale and trembling on the bed.

Then on her.

"What are you doing here?" you ask Eliora.

"Collecting what's legally mine."

"You're not welcome here."

"Oh, but I am."

He turned to me.

His voice softens.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

I tried to speak.

He touched my face.

Then he turns back to Eliora.

"You want to claim the child?"

She nods.

He reached into his coat pocket.

Pull out a folded document.

"Too late."

"What's that?" she asks.

You hold it up.

"A copy of the annulment papers I filed yesterday."

Vanessa gasps.

I stared.

Eliora's mouth falls open.

He steps closer to her.

"We're done, Eliora."

"You can't do that."

"I just did."

She lunges toward me.

He stepped between us.

"You'll never come near Eliana or our child again."

"Try and stop me," she hisses.

"I already did."

He hands her an envelope.

And she rips it open.

Reads.

Screams.

"What is this?"

"Restraining order," you say. "Effective immediately."

"Adrian-"

"You lost."

She turns to me, eyes burning, and says: "You'll regret this. Both of you."