Quinn glared viciously at Zoey, her swollen features twisting with resentment.

"If you dare touch me..." she rasped. "Dylan won’t let you get away with it..."

Zoey burst into a mocking laugh.

"Oh, really? Your Dylan is that powerful?" She folded her arms and tilted her head. "Then why exactly are you lying here looking like you’ve gone ten rounds with a freight train?"

The sarcasm nearly made Quinn choke with fury.

Before she could retaliate, Elise stepped forward.

Her face remained expressionless, her voice calm.

"Were the people who kidnapped you the same ones who appeared at the charity gala?"

Quinn froze. A flash of surprise crossed her eyes, but almost immediately, she forced a confused expression onto her face.

"I... I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Elise studied her quietly.

"The night of the fire, Dylan ran straight to you." Her gaze never wavered. "The crowd was in chaos. He shielded you with his body, but instead of heading directly toward the nearest exit, he stayed where he was."

A cold smile tugged at Quinn’s cracked lips.

"That’s because Dylan was protecting me." Pride flickered through her battered expression. "You’re right. Someone was hiding in the crowd that night and trying to hurt me."

She laughed weakly before wincing in pain.

"Dylan got injured protecting me." Her eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. "So maybe it’s time you faced reality, Elise."

Every word dripped with provocation.

"The person Dylan loves now is me."

Her breathing grew uneven.

"In that moment, when everything was dangerous and uncertain, I was the one he chose to protect. Do you still not understand?"

Her voice trembled with emotion.

"He stopped loving you a long time ago."

A cough interrupted her. Then another. Still, she forced herself onward.

"The person he loves is me..."

The sentence dissolved into violent coughing.

Zoey rolled her eyes so hard they almost disappeared.

"Keep talking like that and you’ll cough up a lung."

Elise remained completely unmoved. Her expression never changed.

Eventually, Quinn managed to stop coughing. Breathing heavily, she looked at Elise and continued her attack.

"We’ve both been kidnapped." A triumphant smile appeared. "But you and I were never the same."

Her eyes glittered maliciously.

"When you were kidnapped five years ago, Dylan never answered a single call."

She paused to catch her breath.

"But when it was me..." A shiver of satisfaction passed through her. "Dylan abandoned his grandmother’s surgery to save me."

Every word landed deliberately.

"He risked his life for me." She licked dry lips before continuing. "He took a knife wound because of me."

Her gaze sharpened.

"If you don’t believe me, ask Oliver."

She coughed again.

"Ask him whether Dylan has a wound across his abdomen."

A twisted smile surfaced.

"He got it while rescuing me."

Zoey immediately started rolling up her sleeves.

"Oh, that’s it. I’ve heard enough. Somebody clearly forgot to beat some manners into you."

Before she could march forward, Elise caught her arm.

Zoey turned. Elise simply shook her head.

"It’s fine. What she’s saying doesn’t affect me anymore."

Zoey inhaled deeply and forced herself to calm down.

The room fell silent. Then Elise looked back at Quinn.

"So you’re saying the kidnappers tortured you like this solely to get revenge on Dylan?"

Quinn frowned.

"How would I know?" Her voice was filled with bitterness. "They’re insane."

A flash of hatred crossed her eyes.

"They blamed Dylan for ruining their business. They’re all psychopaths."

Elise continued studying her with a calm gaze. Quinn noticed the scrutiny and snorted.

"Elise, I know you came here hoping to laugh at me."

Her smile returned, but this time it carried confidence.

"Unfortunately for you, you’re going to be disappointed."

She lifted her chin slightly.

"Dylan already destroyed every one of them."

The satisfaction in her voice was impossible to miss.

"And he promised he’ll protect me from now on."

A dreamy look entered her eyes.

"As soon as your divorce is finalized, he’s going to marry me."

Her expression softened.

"This time I suffered because of him."

A pause.

"Dylan feels guilty."

Another pause.

"He said he’ll never let me suffer again for the rest of my life."

For the first time, Elise smiled, too.

"Is that so?" She nodded. "Then allow me to congratulate you in advance."

Her gaze remained steady.

"I wish you both a long and happy marriage."

Without waiting for a response, she turned away.

"Zoey. Let’s go."

Zoey shot Quinn one final look of disgust before following her out.

The ride back was quiet. For several minutes, neither woman spoke.

Eventually, Zoey broke the silence first.

"Do you believe her?"

Elise stared through the window at the scenery rushing past.

"Not entirely."

Her reflection shimmered faintly in the glass.

"But whether she’s lying or telling the truth doesn’t change anything."

Her voice was firm.

"I still want the divorce."

Zoey pressed her lips together.

After a moment, she spoke carefully.

"To be honest..."

She hesitated.

"I’ve developed a rather bold theory lately."

She glanced sideways.

"I don’t know if you want to hear it."

Elise closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. When she opened her eyes again, her gaze drifted toward the gray sky beyond the window.

The rain had stopped, but the clouds remained.

"Zoey." Her voice was unexpectedly soft. "How much do you think five years of love is worth?"

The question caught Zoey completely off guard.

"What do you mean?"

Elise lowered her eyes.

"For me, before I discovered Dylan’s lies, those five years meant everything."

A faint sadness entered her expression.

"They were heavy enough to outweigh almost anything."

Her voice grew quieter.

"No matter what happened, I believed we could face it together."

She looked down at her hands.

"Even when I was drowning in the grief of losing my children, I kept telling myself to endure."

A fragile smile appeared.

"Just a little longer."

She swallowed.

"For Dylan’s sake, I told myself to stay strong."

By now, Zoey understood. Perhaps more than Elise realized.

Leaning back against the seat, Elise closed her eyes again.

"At my lowest point, I never thought about abandoning him."

The words sounded tired, but honest.

"I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him alone."

She laughed softly, yet without joy.

"I believed what we had was strong enough to survive anything."

Her lashes lowered.

"Pain."

"Loss."

"Misfortune."

"I thought our bond could withstand all of it."

A brief silence followed.

"Clearly," she said at last, "Dylan didn’t feel the same way."

Zoey bit her lip.

"Maybe he had reasons."

"Those reasons don’t matter anymore."

Elise interrupted gently. There was no anger in her voice.

"We’ve known each other for years."

She opened her eyes.

"He knows my character."

"He knows my boundaries."

"He knew exactly what would break me."

The city skyline appeared in the distance.

"And he still made his choice. So now... I’ll make mine."

Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.

"We were never meant to reach the same ending."

***

After Mrs. Bennett’s funeral, Elise stopped leaving the house altogether.

During the day, she focused on resting, caring for her pregnancy, and preparing for her move overseas.

Three days later, shortly after lunch, she was heading upstairs for a nap when the doorbell rang.

Melissa went to answer it.

Standing outside were Mrs. Lander, Robin, and Oliver.

Melissa had never met any of them before, so she looked them over cautiously.

"Who are you looking for?"

Mrs. Lander offered her a polite smile.

"My name is Angela Lander. If you tell Madam I’m here, she’ll know who I am."

Before Melissa could respond, she turned and discovered Elise already approaching from the hallway.

The moment Mrs. Lander saw her, relief flashed across her face.

It quickly transformed into embarrassment.

"Madam."

She lowered her head apologetically.

"I’m sorry to disturb you."

Elise stopped at the doorway.

Her eyes drifted toward the child standing beside Mrs. Lander.

"What are you doing here with him?"

Mrs. Lander hesitated.

"Mr. Bennett and Miss Foster are both hospitalized."

She glanced at Robin cautiously. "The young master has been crying nonstop because he misses them."

Her expression became increasingly helpless.

"Assistant Grant and I tried everything to comfort him."

A small sigh escaped her lips.

"In the end, he said he wanted to see you."

Elise’s expression cooled immediately.

"He has nothing to do with me."

Her voice remained composed.

"I have no obligation to raise Dylan’s child."

The words landed heavily.

Robin’s eyes instantly reddened. Then... he started crying again.

They were soft, broken sobs that sounded all the more heartbreaking because he was trying so hard to hold them back.

He had never been the kind of child who threw tantrums.

He was obedient. Sensitive. Well-behaved.

If he was crying like this, then he truly was hurting.

Mrs. Lander quickly crouched down and began comforting him.

Oliver looked at Elise, his expression carried both exhaustion and pleading.

"Madam." His voice lowered. "He’s only a child."

A pause.

"Please... for Mrs. Bennett’s sake."

His gaze shifted toward the little boy.

"Would you be willing to look after him for a few days?"

Elise stood silently at the doorway.

The sound of Robin’s quiet sobbing drifted through the air.

She looked at the child.

A complicated emotion flickered across her face.

For the first time in a long while, certainty abandoned her.