ELLA.

I couldn’t believe it had already been two days since I was discharged from the hospital, and yet the dull ache in my head refused to fade. It lingered stubbornly, pulsing softly as though reminding me that everything that had happened wasn’t some distant nightmare, it was painfully real.

I sat on the edge of my bed, my back slightly slouched as my gaze remained fixed on the ceiling above. The room was too quiet, but my mind was anything but. Bella’s voice from yesterday kept replaying over and over again, each word echoing louder than the last, refusing to let me rest.

"You bitch! Why didn’t you just die?" her voice thundered in my head, sharp and venomous, as if she were standing right in front of me again.

I could still see it so clearly, her figure advancing toward me, her eyes filled with nothing but hatred.

"It seems you were the one who pushed me," I had said calmly, even though my body had been far from calm. I remembered raising my brows slightly, forcing myself to stay composed despite the storm brewing inside me.

Honestly, I had wanted to avoid the triplets at all costs. Not just because of Bella’s threats, but because I needed peace, something that seemed impossible to find around them. But now, everything has changed. Fate had bound me to them in the most complicated way possible.

They were my mates.

And no matter how much I tried to deny it, I knew one thing for certain, I wouldn’t allow another woman to claim them.

"Yes I did," Bella had admitted without hesitation, laughing as though it was something trivial, something amusing. "What can you do about it?" she had asked, that smug, sheepish smile playing on her lips.

The audacity of it still made my chest tighten.

"Well, I don’t mind telling your step-brothers you were the one that pushed me," I had replied with a smile stretching across my face despite the pain in my head.

It wasn’t a genuine smile, it was a warning.

"You wouldn’t dare!" she snapped, her eyes darkening instantly. "They won’t believe you anyways."

I remembered stepping forward then, closing the distance between us slowly, deliberately, until we were standing face to face. My eyes locked onto hers, unwavering.

"I would love to see for myself who they would choose to believe," I had said, my voice steady, even though my heart had been beating faster than usual.

Her reaction had been immediate.

"You..." she had stammered, pointing her finger at me as she stomped her foot against the ground in frustration.

But I hadn’t backed down.

"Let me make things clear, Bella," I had continued, my tone turning colder, firmer. "If you still want your brothers to regard you, then don’t mess with me."

Every word had been deliberate, each one carrying the weight of a warning I fully intended to stand by.

I turned away from her after that, walking toward the window, needing space, needing air. My head had been throbbing, my body still weak, and the last thing I needed was more confrontation.

"Get out," I had said without looking back. "I just got discharged. I need rest."

"Just you wait," she had thrown back before finally leaving the room.

The memory faded slowly, like a lingering shadow retreating into darkness, and I let out a long, quiet breath.

Back in the present, I pushed myself up from the bed, my body still slightly heavy, my head still aching. The silence returned, but this time it felt a little less suffocating.

I needed to clear my mind.

Without thinking too much, I made my way toward the bathroom, deciding a bath might help ease the tension clinging to my body.

It was already the weekend, and somehow, time felt like it was slipping through my fingers faster than I could grasp it. In just a few days, I would officially resume work....as their secretary.

The thought lingered at the back of my mind, but it wasn’t what truly occupied my thoughts.

Not even close.

What mattered more, what refused to let me rest, were those memories... the ones that had been surfacing in my dreams lately. They came in fragments, unclear, distorted, yet strangely familiar. Each time I woke up, I was left with more questions than answers.

Slowly, almost subconsciously, I had begun to accept something I once resisted.

I was Theresa.

That truth no longer felt foreign to me, yet it brought along an even heavier question, if I truly was Theresa... then how did I end up with Alex?

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration, my fingers tangling slightly in the strands as I tried to piece everything together. Nothing made sense. Everything felt scattered, like a puzzle with missing pieces.

My chest tightened slightly.

I had barely taken a few steps toward the bathroom when the sharp ping of my phone cut through the silence of the room.

I paused.

For a moment, I considered ignoring it. I really didn’t have the energy for anything or anyone right now. But something in me still turned back, my feet moving almost on their own as I reached for the phone resting on the table.

The screen lit up.

Alex.

Just seeing his name was enough to make my expression harden.

I unlocked the phone and read the message.

> Hey love, I heard you got discharged from the hospital. How are you feeling now?

I rolled my eyes immediately, a scoff escaping my lips before I could stop it. The audacity of him still addressing me that way was almost laughable.

I was about to drop the phone back on the table, to ignore him completely, when another notification came in almost instantly.

> I know you are still angry at your husband, but couples have misunderstandings from time to time, right? Please come back already, let’s fix all this.

Husband?

I froze for a second, staring at the screen like I hadn’t read it properly.

Then my brows furrowed deeply.

Was he insane?

By now, he should have signed the divorce papers. I had made myself very clear about that. There was nothing left to fix, nothing left to salvage. Whatever we had...if it was ever real...was already long gone.

My grip on the phone tightened slightly.

I was getting tired of this. Truly tired.

His messages weren’t just irritating anymore, they were exhausting.

And just when I thought he was done, another message popped in, almost desperately.

> Ella please I really need you. Only you can save me now. I really love you Ella, I promise I won’t repeat the same mistake again.

I stared at the screen for a long moment, my expression unreadable. A hollow feeling settled in my chest, but it wasn’t sympathy.

It was annoyance, pure, unfiltered annoyance.

His words felt empty, almost rehearsed, like something he thought I wanted to hear rather than something he truly meant.

A part of me wondered how he could switch so easily, from threatening, to manipulative, to this... pitiful version of himself.

I exhaled slowly, shaking my head.

Whatever game he was playing, I wasn’t interested in being a part of it anymore.

My fingers hovered just above the screen, hesitating as I tried to come up with a response. Part of me wanted to reply...if only to shut him up once and for all...but another part of me felt too drained to even bother. I stared at the blinking cursor, my thoughts tangled and restless.

Before I could decide, another message came in.

> I’m ready to strip Eva of her title Ella. You are my only Luna. I’m only keeping Eva because she is pregnant. How about this, the moment she gives birth, you would have the child, I know how much you have been expecting one. I can give you Eva’s baby and strip her of the rights to the child. The baby will become ours to train.

I froze.

For a second, I simply stared at the words, my mind struggling to process what I had just read. Then, slowly, the meaning sank in and with it came a surge of anger so intense it made my chest tighten.

My fingers curled tightly around the phone, my grip tightening as if I could crush it in my hand.

How stupid could he possibly be?

Did he really think I would accept something like that? That I would take another woman’s child—her child—and raise it as mine, as though nothing had happened? As though betrayal could simply be brushed aside and replaced with something so twisted?

And not to mention...

I instinctively placed a hand over my stomach, my breath hitching slightly.

I already had mine.

The thought alone made his suggestion even more disgusting.

"You are a bastard, Alex," I snapped aloud, my voice sharp, echoing faintly in the quiet room.

The anger simmered beneath my skin, refusing to settle. I didn’t even want to waste another second entertaining his nonsense.

Without thinking twice, I tapped on his contact, my movements quick and decisive. My thumb hovered over the option for only a brief moment before I pressed it.

BLOCK.

That was it, there was no hesitation nor a second thought.

I had blocked him.

A strange sense of finality washed over me, followed by a quiet relief. It felt like cutting off something toxic, something that had lingered for far too long.

"To hell with him," I muttered under my breath, my tone firm.

To hell with his words, his manipulations, and everything that had to do with him.

I tossed the phone back onto the table carelessly, not even sparing it another glance. I was done.

Completely done.

Without allowing myself to dwell on it any longer, I turned and walked straight into the bathroom, needing the water, the silence, anything to wash away the frustration still clinging to me.