Chapter 20
Elara opened the gift box, revealing a sapphire bracelet inside. Her gaze sharpened as she picked it up.
“What’s the size of this bracelet?” she asked.
“5.6 inches,” Harvey replied instinctively.
Elara let out a dry laugh, and a bitter taste was rising in her throat. “That’s Niamh’s wrist size.”
She extended her hand out the window, letting the sparkling sapphire bracelet slip from her palm.
Harvey’s brow furrowed as emotions rippled through his tally cold eyes. “You’re just jealous of Niamh. That’s why you’re throwing this tantrum.
“I’ve known Niamh for over 20 years. If there were something between us, do you think you’d even be here?”
His words seemed to stir something deep within Elara–a memory buried in the past. Her broken smile reflected back at her in the rearview mirror.
“Do you remember about the night you left to find Niamh three years ago? You made me go to the hospital alone.
“I had a fever of 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit that night. Taylor was on leave, and the staff had gone home. I was counting on you to drive me…”
As Elara spoke, the memory resurfaced for Harvey.
“Didn’t you take a cab to the hospital?” Harvey responded, puzzled by her fixation on such a minor incident.
“I went to the hospital and called you several times, but you never answered.”
“Niamh had gotten drunk and wandered to the beach. It was pitch black out there, and I was busy looking for her.”
He chuckled bitterly at this. Elara was always competing with Niamh in her mind. Women simply weren’t cute when they were jealous.
Elara’s vision blurred as she stared straight ahead. She continued, “Harvey, I was at the hospital, waiting for you to sign the consent form for a pregnancy termination.”
Harvey froze as he was utterly caught off guard. “You had a miscarriage? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Elara lowered her long lashes, unwilling to see her own reflection in the mirror. Seven years of love had eroded. into nothing but bitterness and resentment.
“Do you even remember why I had that fever?”
A flicker of recognition crossed Harvey’s eyes. He did remember that incident.
Beau, in his mischievous play, had emptied the wish jar on Harvey’s desk. He took the glass marbles inside and launched them one by one into the lake with a slingshot.
Those marbles were a keepsake from Harvey’s late sister.
His fury erupted, and his voice echoed through the house, leaving the staff too frightened to intervene. He then turned to Elara and ordered her to retrieve all 32 marbles from the lake.
That night, she waded into the frigid water until she found every single one. By dawn, she barely had time to rest before heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the childreni.
The relentless demands of her day continued. By nightfall, er body finally gave out as she helped the kids with
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Chapter 20
their homework, consumed by fever and exhaustion. She had become nothing more than a burned–out ember.
‘Harvey, I stopped loving you three years ago. And now, I won’t waste my time foolishly waiting for my son to come close to me.”
She no longer looked to anyone for rescue, nor did she harbor any illusions about receiving even the slightest hint of care from Harvey or Beau.
While Harvey stood in stunned silence, Elara slammed the car door shut and pressed her foot to the gas pedal. She drove forward, feeling resolute that she would not look back.
Harvey remained rooted in place as he watched her car disappear into the distance, leaving only a cloud of exhaust in its wake.
Niamh emerged from the shadows, limping slightly. She approached Harvey, resting her hand on his shoulder for support.
“Did she take the gift you picked out for her?”
Harvey’s frosty gaze fell on the sapphire bracelet lying discarded on the ground.
Following his line of sight, Niamh exclaimed, “Why did you drop the bracelet?”
She hobbled over, picking it up from the pavement.
“Ah, I get it. Pleasing a woman is such a hassle! Honestly, maybe if you stop trying, she’ll come running back to you, begging for attention,” Niamh quipped while glancing over her shoulder at Harvey.
Nonetheless, he was already walking away as his focus was elsewhere.
“Harvey! Wait for me!” Niamh called out as limped after him.
Unfazed, Harvey was already on his phone, speaking coldly to Cyrus. “Look into all of Elara’s medical records from three years ago.”
