Chapter 2

The glass shattered at my feet, splintering into pieces and slicing into my ankle.

The sharp pain spread. I bit down hard on the inside of my lip and dialed my personal lawyer. “Tom, someone has threatened my personal safety. Come deal with it.”

I leaned against the car, irritably pulling out a cigarette. But when I thought of the child in my womb, I stopped.

Kael chased after me and gripped my wrist tightly.

“Elara has to support her seriously ill grandmother. She cannot lose this job. She is pitiful enough already.”

Pitiful?

I snapped, flinging Kael’s hand away as if I had lost all reason.

The grievances I had bottled up for days erupted in an instant.

“Just because she is pitiful, she gets to steal someone else’s boyfriend? Just because she is pitiful, she can flaunt herself in front of me?”

I lifted the hem of my skirt, exposing my bloodied ankle and let out a hoarse laugh. “Or is it that you only feel sorry for her?”

My hysterical roar echoed through the empty parking garage.

Kael rubbed his aching temples, his gaze dark and still as water. “If you refuse to let her go, then I can only protect her in my own way.”

He turned and left without a trace of hesitation.

That broad back gradually faded from sight. I shed all my defenses, hugged my arms and crouched down.

Back then, Kael had been pitiful too—I was the one who took him in.

His job was easy. After work, he would wash clothes and cook at home, taking care of my daily needs.

He would ache for me when overtime left my eyes bloodshot and he would ache for me when I drank with clients until my stomach bled.

He was even more heartbroken for me having no one to rely on, not daring to take sick leave even when ill, afraid of missing any chance for promotion or a raise.

Perhaps Kael had already forgotten that his original reason for clawing his way upward was simply to become my solid support, to build me a safe and steady harbor from the storm.

I pulled open the car door and stepped on the accelerator, driving straight to the hospital.

While waiting in line in the corridor, the couple across from me burst into tears of joy after learning they were pregnant.

The man held the woman’s hand tightly, tearfully promising he would be a good father.

The scene was warm and deeply moving.

I touched my lower abdomen, my heart wavering ever so slightly.

Was I too uncompromising, causing me and Kael to argue again and again?

If he knew we had a baby, would he come to his senses and become a responsible father?

A notification chime sounded, shattering all my beautiful illusions.

Elara had not been fired.

Kael hired her as his personal secretary, directly under his own authority.

The previously quiet company group chat suddenly came alive. Many people were celebrating her.

[Elara has really turned things around. With Mr. Draven backing her, she can practically run wild in the company.]

[Mr. Draven was known for his fairness—but breaking the rules just to protect Elara? That was the mark of a true man.]

[Who knows, maybe Elara will be our direct superior in the future. Respectfully, Mrs. Thalor.]

***

My heart slowly sank to the bottom.

Kael, who had always disliked participating in company chatter, even showed up and sent a generous bonus to celebrate.

My phone vibrated wildly, the screen flashing a familiar number. I pressed the answer.

“Lyra, Kael used the credit from that last major case to plead with the chairman—that is how he managed to keep Elara. Your… termination approval has already been returned to your inbox.”

I responded faintly, “Mm.”

The last time he took on a difficult yet high-profile project, I worked day and night for half a month straight, barely sleeping, nearly suffering a heart attack.

I had exhausted myself just to help him chew through that hard bone.

Back then, we had agreed to trade that achievement for a week off to fly to Briavelle together and unwind.

My blood and sweat had merely become his stepping stone.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. This time, I did not hesitate. I walked into the operating room.

At the same time, I submitted an application for a transfer to Urgina headquarters.