Chapter 5: The Secret He Was Never Supposed to Know

Elinor Frost POV:

The first ultrasound picture sat inside my handbag like a secret capable of changing everything.

Three days had passed since I learned about the pregnancy.

Three days of unanswered calls.

Three days of ignoring Braden.

Three days of pretending I wasn't terrified.

The tiny black-and-white image showed almost nothing. A small shape. A possibility. A future.

Yet every time I looked at it, my chest tightened.

This child deserved better than the marriage it had been conceived in.

It deserved honesty.

Safety.

Love.

Everything Braden and I had failed to build.

My phone buzzed for the seventh time that morning.

Braden.

Again.

I deleted the notification without reading it.

A moment later, another message appeared.

"Stop acting like a child and answer your phone."

I almost laughed.

For years he had ignored my calls.

Now he couldn't tolerate being ignored himself.

Karma had a funny sense of humor.

I was leaving the hospital after another checkup when a black luxury car pulled sharply into the parking lot entrance.

My stomach dropped.

I recognized the vehicle instantly.

Braden.

The driver's door opened.

He stepped out wearing a charcoal suit, sunglasses, and an expression dark enough to stop traffic.

His eyes found me immediately.

Anger.

Relief.

Possession.

Everything flashed across his face at once.

"Elinor."

His voice echoed across the parking lot.

I turned away.

"We're done doing this," I muttered.

Unfortunately, Braden had never been good at accepting rejection.

He caught up within seconds.

"Three days," he snapped. "You've ignored me for three days."

"Congratulations. Now you know how it feels."

His jaw tightened.

For a second, neither of us spoke.

Then his gaze shifted toward the hospital entrance behind me.

"Why are you here?"

My grip tightened around my handbag.

"None of your business."

"You're still my wife."

"Not for long."

The words landed like a slap.

Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.

"Guy put you up to this, didn't he?"

"No."

"The lawyer?"

"No."

"Then who?"

"You."

That finally silenced him.

For the first time since I'd known him, Braden looked genuinely stunned.

"What?"

"You did this," I said quietly. "Not Guy. Not the lawyer. Not Destany."

"You."

The wind blew between us.

For once, he had no defense ready.

"I didn't ask for this," he said finally.

"Neither did I."

"You know what I mean."

"Do I?"

My voice remained calm.

His didn't.

"You're blowing everything out of proportion."

"You kissed another woman in front of half the industry."

"It was publicity."

"You slept with her."

Silence.

The answer was written all over his face.

My heart cracked again.

Not because I was surprised.

Because seeing the truth still hurt.

"That's what I thought," I whispered.

Braden suddenly stepped closer.

"I can fix this."

I stared at him.

For years, those words would've been enough.

Not anymore.

"No," I said. "You can't."

"Tell me what you want."

"A divorce."

The color drained from his face.

"No."

"That's not your decision."

"It is if I refuse to sign."

There it was.

The control.

The entitlement.

The belief that everything belonged to him.

Including me.

"You don't own me, Braden."

"You're my wife."

"For now."

His hands clenched into fists.

"This is because of Destany."

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"Because I'm tired."

The honesty seemed to hit harder than anger ever could.

"Tired?"

"Tired of begging for scraps. Tired of being embarrassed. Tired of pretending our marriage exists."

"Elinor—"

"No."

I took a step back.

"You don't get to explain anymore."

For a moment, something almost human crossed his face.

Regret.

Real regret.

Then his phone rang.

Destany.

The name flashed across his screen.

I saw it.

He saw me see it.

Neither of us moved.

The irony was almost beautiful.

The woman he'd chosen stood between us even when she wasn't physically present.

"Answer it," I said.

"Elinor—"

"Answer it."

His phone continued ringing.

Eventually it stopped.

A second later another message appeared.

"Miss you already ❤️"

I laughed.

A short, broken laugh.

"There it is."

"It's not what it looks like."

"That's exactly what it looks like."

I turned and started walking toward my car.

"Elinor!"

I didn't stop.

"Elinor!"

I kept walking.

"Damn it!"

The anger returned instantly.

That familiar temper.

That familiar arrogance.

"You don't get to walk away when I'm talking to you!"

I froze.

Not from fear.

From realization.

Even now, he still didn't understand.

He thought the problem was that I wasn't listening.

Not that he'd destroyed everything worth saving.

Slowly, I turned around.

"Watch me."

Then I got into my car.

For the first time in years, I drove away from Braden Harmon.

And he couldn't stop me.

That evening, I sat alone in the nursery section of a department store.

I didn't know why I'd come.

Maybe because the pregnancy finally felt real.

Tiny clothes lined the shelves.

Small shoes.

Soft blankets.

Little lives waiting to begin.

My eyes filled with tears.

This baby was innocent.

It deserved a mother who was strong.

Not broken.

A vibration interrupted my thoughts.

Another message.

This time it wasn't Braden.

It was an unknown number.

A photo appeared.

My blood turned to ice.

Braden and Destany.

Tokyo.

A hotel balcony.

His arm around her waist.

Her lips against his neck.

The timestamp showed it had been taken only two weeks ago.

A second message arrived.

"Thought you deserved to know the truth."

Then a third.

"He's never going to choose you."

I stared at the screen.

For a long time, I said nothing.

Then I slowly locked my phone.

A strange calm settled over me.

Because for the first time, the photos didn't break my heart.

They confirmed what I already knew.

The marriage was dead.

The only question now was how much destruction would happen before it was officially buried.