Guinevere didn’t seem to care about Stella’s biting remark. She only smiled, her tone dripping with cold amusement. “I know that the woman must have been heartbroken, but the more she clung to Weston, the deeper her pain would become.”
She leaned back, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I was very clear that the longer the situation dragged on, the more harm it would cause her. That’s why I tried to settle everything as quickly as possible. What I didn’t expect was for that woman to be so reluctant to let go. In the end, we were both kidnapped, and the kidnapper said only one of us could leave. Weston chose me, and that woman, in her despair, chose to jump off the building as an act of revenge against him…”
Guinevere paused, looking almost regretful. “But it wasn’t Weston’s fault. Her revenge was useless.”
A cold flicker passed through Stella’s eyes, but she didn’t respond, her face a mask of calm indifference. Guinevere’s gaze shifted lower, landing on her stomach.
“I’m about to give birth. I’m of the rare Hh blood group, which means I can only have one child in my entire life,” she continued, her voice soft. “Weston values the child above all else. He can’t afford to focus on anything else.”
Stella’s grip tightened around her coffee cup. The bitter taste lingered on her tongue, but it felt nothing compared to the dull ache settling deep inside her chest. She was also of the rare Hh blood group—she had even donated blood to Guinevere at one point. Like Guinevere, she could only have one child in her lifetime.
Yet no one had cared about her loss. No one had asked how she felt about losing her only child.
Her mind raced as she forced herself to listen, enduring the unbearable pain in her heart as Guinevere spoke her version of events. A piece of the puzzle clicked into place. One thing Stella had never understood was why Weston had ever gotten involved with her when he hadn’t fully severed ties with Guinevere. Now she understood: they were at odds over a baby, and their relationship was on a break. Weston had chosen to marry someone—anyone—to spite Guinevere. But in the end, the only woman he had ever truly loved was Guinevere.
That’s why, just months into their marriage, when Guinevere came back and confessed she hadn’t had an abortion after all, Weston had been eager to end his marriage to Stella.
From the beginning, she had been nothing more than a pawn in their games, a nameless, insignificant figure used to push their tangled relationship forward. Even though she had initiated her own escape, she had never managed to keep her dignity intact in the process.
Stella’s heart twisted painfully. She too was of the rare Hh blood group and had once hoped for a family, but now that dream was lost. Guinevere had stolen that from her. If she hadn’t jumped from the building that day, Stella would have been humiliated by the kidnapper. It felt as if she had lost everything.
She shut her eyes, trying to steady herself, but the overwhelming emotions threatened to break through. When she opened her eyes again, she met Guinevere’s gaze squarely, her heart pounding in her chest.
A question lingered on the tip of her tongue, but she swallowed it down. She wanted to ask Guinevere, with all the bitterness in her heart, if she ever felt a shred of guilt during those lonely, quiet nights. Weston had cheated on her feelings, but she couldn’t deny that he had been the one to help her. If not for him, Roger’s condition might never have stabilized.
Even though she had to divorce Weston, she never truly bore a grudge against him. She was a woman of lowly standing, and she had accepted the fact that she had been the losing party in their relationship.
But she had never done anything wrong to Guinevere. Not once had she interfered in their relationship. She had never intentionally hurt Guinevere. So why, then, did Guinevere want her life? What right did she have to vent all her frustrations on Stella, to demand her death as though she were the villain in this twisted story?
What right did Guinevere have to strip her of everything? What right did she have to destroy her when it was Weston who had let them both down?
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