I couldn’t stay another second. I ran to the guest room, grabbed my phone, and called the one person I had vowed never to contact—my mother.
“Vivienne?” Her voice was wary, cautious.
“I need you,” I said, tears streaming. “Adrian… everything he told me… it was all lies. Please… come get me.”
Tears streamed down my face without end. My chest ached with a heaviness that made it nearly impossible to draw a full breath. I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the blanket like it was the only lifeline holding me together, like if I let go, I would completely fall apart.
The door creaked open. Adrian stepped in, his movements careful, his face pale and drawn as if the gravity of the world rested on him. “Vivienne,” he said softly, stepping closer, “I just came from the hospital. They said Elias’s condition is… not good. But we’ll find a donor, okay? I promise. He’ll be fine.”
His words felt like acid in my chest. Every syllable twisted the knife deeper. Love. How casually he used that word, the same mouth that whispered it to Seraphine, the same mouth that betrayed me for years.
I forced my eyes to meet his. Concern filled them—or at least that’s what I wanted to see—but all I could recognize was the man who had built a world of lies around me. My throat closed. No sound came out. My entire body trembled violently.
He moved closer, trying to take my hands. “I know this is difficult,” he whispered, “but you’re not alone. We’ll get through this together.”
Together?
A laugh threatened to escape, but it turned into a strangled sob instead.
Before I could pull away, another voice spoke from the doorway. “Vivienne…”
Seraphine.
She stood there, carefully hiding the malice behind a mask of concern. Her voice was saccharine, way too sweet to be sincere. “I’m so sorry,” she said, stepping inside. “This must be overwhelming for you. You’ve cared for Elias for so long… it’s okay to rest now. Adrian and I will handle everything.”
Rest. The word churned my stomach.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw open the door and reveal that I knew everything—that I had heard them plotting, that I knew she was Elias’s real mother, that Adrian had built a life with her while I thought I was his wife. But my voice betrayed me. I could only nod weakly, wiping away my tears. “Okay,” I whispered, voice barely audible.