Elowen sat quietly in her wheelchair at the hospital lobby, close to the entrance. The afternoon sun filtered through the glass doors, casting long shadows across the polished floor. People walked in and out, their voices low, their footsteps echoing faintly, but she felt detached from everything around her.
She glanced at the wall clock again.
3:52 p.m.
Lucien still hadn't come.
Her fingers tightened around the armrest of her wheelchair. Anxiety crept into her chest, heavy and suffocating. She told herself to be patient, but doubt began to whisper cruel thoughts into her mind.
What if he had changed his mind?
What if he had only said those words because he felt pity for her in that moment?
Maybe he realized it was a mistake.
Maybe he decided he didn't want the burden after all.
Her throat tightened painfully.
She lowered her eyes, trying to steady her breathing. She didn't want to cry—not here, not in public. She had already been pitiful enough.
He will come, she told herself.
Mrs. Felicia said he would come.
She clung to that reassurance like a fragile lifeline.
Just then, the glass doors slid open.
Elowen stiffened instantly when she saw who walked in.
Stella Jones.
Adrian's younger sister.
Scarlett's best friend.
Her heart dropped.
Stella stepped into the hospital lobby confidently, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. She was dressed stylishly, her hair perfectly styled, her face glowing with pride and self-importance.
Elowen's first instinct was to turn away.
She tried to move her wheelchair back, to hide behind a pillar, to disappear before Stella noticed her. Her hands pushed weakly at the wheels, panic tightening her chest.
But it was too late.
Stella's sharp eyes had already landed on her. She stopped walking, stared for a moment, then a slow, mocking smile spread across her lips.
"Well, if it isn't the illegitimate cripple," Stella said loudly.
Elowen froze.
Heat rushed to her face as shame burned through her veins. People nearby turned to look, their curious gazes cutting into her like knives.
Stella had always been like this. She never missed an opportunity to humiliate her—to mock her for being an illegitimate child. And after Elowen's accident, it had only grown worse.
Stella walked closer, her gaze sweeping over Elowen from head to toe, lingering cruelly on the wheelchair.
"My goodness," Stella laughed. "Look at you. You've become even more pitiful than the last time I saw you."
Elowen lowered her head, her fingers trembling.
Stella crossed her arms. "Is this my brother's effect on you?" she said mockingly. "I told you, didn't I? That my brother would never marry you."
Elowen finally lifted her head.
"Alright," she said quietly, forcing the words out. "Your wish has come true. So will you leave me alone now?"
She was tired—tired of being talked down to, tired of being shamed. And besides, her biggest worry right now was whether Lucien would come, just as he had promised.
Stella scoffed. "You still dare to talk back to me?" she snapped. "Just so you know, Adrian won't come to your aid anymore."
Elowen swallowed the lump in her throat.
What Stella said was true. Adrian had always been the one to step in whenever she was cornered, whenever she was humiliated.
"Good," Stella said smugly, as if Elowen had finally learned her place.
Then she straightened and sighed dramatically.
"It's funny, really," she continued. "We went to the same film academy. We both dreamed of becoming actresses."
She smiled proudly. "And look at me now. I've already featured in two major movies. And guess what?"
She leaned in closer, lowering her voice.
"I just landed another role."
Elowen's heart clenched painfully.
She had truly dreamed of becoming an actress—a superstar. But the accident had taken her leg just as she graduated. She hadn't even made her official debut in the movie industry.
"I'll be playing a cripple in a wheelchair," Stella said with a laugh. "I guess I won't even need to act much. I'll just think of you."
The words cut deep.
Elowen's hands shook violently. She bit her lip hard, tasting blood, trying desperately to hold herself together.
Stella laughed again, clearly enjoying herself. "How ironic. You couldn't even make your debut, and now you can't even walk. Life really knows how to put people like you in their place."
She stepped back, satisfied.
"Enjoy your life, Elowen," Stella said coldly. "Oh wait… what life?"
She laughed lightly and walked away, her laughter echoing faintly through the lobby.
Elowen sat there, frozen.
Her vision blurred as tears finally slipped down her cheeks. She wiped them quickly, ashamed to cry, but her chest hurt so badly it felt like she couldn't breathe.
After wiping her tears, she lifted her head again to check the wall clock.
And that was when she saw him.
Lucien stood not far from her.
It seemed like he had been there for a while.
He had come—just as he said he would.
Her heart skipped.
Lucien's eyes moved past Elowen to Stella, who was now talking casually with a nurse. His lips curved into an unnoticeable smile.
He walked closer to Elowen.
"Let's go," he said softly.
Stella, on the other hand, had just finished talking to the nurse and was heading toward the doctor she had booked an appointment with.
She had barely taken a few steps when someone came crashing into her with great force.
Thud.
She landed heavily on the ground, face first.
"Ahhh!" she screamed in pain.
Blood flowed from her nose as she clutched her face.
"My nose!" she cried out hysterically.
She had broken it.
The pain was unbearable.