Chapter 3: The Breaking Point

The next morning, Elena woke before sunrise.

For a few peaceful seconds, she forgot where she was.

Then reality returned.

The Ashford Mansion.

Julian.

Claire.

Three years of disappointment.

She sat up slowly and looked around the room.

Pieces of torn letters still covered part of the floor.

The sight made her chest ache.

Those letters had contained every dream she once carried.

Now they were nothing more than scraps of paper.

Just like her marriage.

Elena cleaned the room herself.

She carefully gathered every piece and threw them into the fireplace.

The flames consumed them within seconds.

Watching the papers burn felt strangely symbolic.

Something inside her was disappearing too.

At breakfast, the atmosphere was unusually cheerful.

Claire was telling a story about her years abroad.

Everyone listened attentively.

Even Julian smiled occasionally.

Elena quietly took her seat.

Nobody acknowledged her arrival.

'Claire should join the charity board,' Margaret announced.

'That's a wonderful idea,' Julian's uncle agreed.

'She would be perfect.'

Claire laughed modestly.

'I don't know if I'm qualified.'

'Nonsense,' Margaret said. 'You're exactly what this family needs.'

Elena nearly laughed.

Exactly what this family needs.

Not long ago, Margaret had said those same words about Elena.

Back when Julian first introduced her.

Before disappointment replaced expectation.

Before Claire returned.

Margaret suddenly turned toward Elena.

'You haven't touched your food.'

'I'm not very hungry.'

'You look pale.'

'I'm fine.'

'Perhaps you should take better care of yourself,' Margaret replied.

The concern sounded fake.

Elena simply nodded.

After breakfast, she escaped to the mansion garden.

It was the only place where she could breathe.

The roses were beginning to bloom.

Three years ago, she had planted them herself.

Nobody remembered that either.

'Beautiful, aren't they?'

Claire's voice came from behind.

Elena turned.

Claire approached slowly, carrying a cup of tea.

'You planted these?' Claire asked.

'Yes.'

'They're lovely.'

For a moment, silence settled between them.

Then Claire sighed.

'Elena, I think we should talk.'

Elena already knew she wouldn't like the conversation.

'About what?'

'About Julian.'

There it was.

Claire sat on a nearby bench.

'You misunderstand our relationship.'

'Do I?'

'We're just old friends.'

Elena looked directly into her eyes.

'Then why does everyone treat you like his wife?'

Claire's expression faltered.

'I can't control what other people think.'

'But you enjoy it.'

'That's unfair.'

'Is it?'

For the first time, Claire looked uncomfortable.

'Julian cared about me once.'

'I know.'

'And maybe part of him always will.'

The words landed like a knife.

Claire quickly added, 'But that doesn't mean I want to hurt you.'

'Yet somehow I keep getting hurt.'

Claire stood.

'I hoped we could be friends.'

'Friends don't take what belongs to someone else.'

'Julian doesn't belong to you.'

The sentence echoed between them.

Neither woman spoke.

Finally Claire walked away.

Elena remained frozen beside the roses.

Her heart felt heavier than ever.

That evening, Julian returned home earlier than usual.

The mansion staff immediately became excited.

It was rare.

Very rare.

Elena happened to be arranging flowers in the library when he entered.

Their eyes met briefly.

'We need to talk,' Julian said.

Elena's stomach tightened.

'About what?'

'Claire.'

Of course.

Always Claire.

'What about her?'

'She told me about your conversation.'

'Then she didn't tell you everything.'

'She said you accused her of stealing me.'

Elena laughed bitterly.

'Did she mention the part where she practically admitted you still love her?'

'Watch your words.'

'Why? The truth makes you uncomfortable?'

Julian's eyes darkened.

'You're becoming unreasonable.'

'No. I'm becoming honest.'

The room fell silent.

For years Elena had swallowed every emotion.

Now they poured out faster than she could stop them.

'Tell me something, Julian.'

'What?'

'If Claire had never left, would you have married me?'

His silence answered immediately.

The pain nearly stole her breath.

'I thought so.'

'That's not a fair question.'

'It's a simple question.'

'Life isn't that simple.'

'It is for me.'

Tears filled her eyes.

'Because I know my answer.'

Julian frowned.

'What answer?'

'I would still choose you.'

For the first time, he looked genuinely surprised.

'Even now?'

'Even now.'

The confession felt humiliating.

But it was true.

She still loved him.

And perhaps that was the most tragic part.

Julian looked away first.

'Elena...'

His voice softened slightly.

Too little.

Too late.

'Don't.'

She shook her head.

'Please don't pretend to care now.'

Then she left the room.

That night, Elena couldn't sleep.

She wandered through the mansion halls after midnight.

Eventually she found herself standing outside Julian's study.

Light spilled from beneath the door.

Voices drifted inside.

Julian and Claire.

Something told her to walk away.

Instead, she stayed.

'You shouldn't blame yourself,' Claire was saying softly.

'I do.'

'Why?'

'Because I made mistakes.'

Elena's heart pounded.

'We both did,' Claire replied.

A long silence followed.

Then Julian spoke again.

'Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if things had been different.'

Elena felt the blood drain from her face.

'Julian...' Claire whispered.

'Forget it.'

'No.'

'It's in the past.'

'Is it?'

The question shattered something inside Elena.

She couldn't listen anymore.

She walked away before they could hear her.

Back in her room, she sat on the edge of the bed until dawn.

For hours she stared at nothing.

Thinking.

Remembering.

Hurting.

By morning, she had made a decision.

Not a dramatic one.

Not yet.

But a decision nonetheless.

She opened her laptop.

Then she searched for apartments.

Small ones.

Cheap ones.

Anywhere far from the Ashford family.

For the first time in years, she imagined a future that did not include Julian.

The idea terrified her.

Yet strangely, it also brought relief.

An hour later, her phone rang.

Noah.

'Ellie?'

'Hi.'

'You sound awful.'

'I'm fine.'

'You're lying.'

Elena smiled weakly.

'Maybe.'

'Come visit me this weekend.'

'Why?'

'Because I miss my sister.'

The simple words nearly made her cry.

Nobody in the Ashford family had said they missed her in three years.

'Okay,' she whispered.

'Really?'

'Really.'

'Good. And Elena?'

'Yes?'

'Whatever is happening over there... you don't have to survive it alone.'

After the call ended, Elena sat quietly.

For the first time in a long while, someone had chosen her.

Not because of duty.

Not because of obligation.

Not because they needed something.

Simply because they loved her.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Outside her bedroom window, dark clouds gathered over the city.

A storm was coming.

Elena didn't know it yet, but her life was about to change forever.

And when everything finally collapsed, the people who ignored her pain would discover just how much they stood to lose.