Chapter Three

Elena’s Pov

That afternoon, I got a call from Lucas’s lawyer. He said I needed to come to the mansion to sign the divorce papers. Lucas had told me they would be sent to me, so I didn’t understand why I suddenly had to go there. I didn’t want to, but after thinking it over, I told Sabrina to watch the twins. She agreed quickly, and her eyes had a strange look that day—almost like she was happy about something. I ignored it and left.

The mansion felt cold as I walked in. Memories of our happy moments flooded my mind, but I pushed them aside. I knew why I had been called here. They wanted to humiliate me one last time.

“Isn’t it the slut?” Isabella sneered as soon as I stepped into the living room.

I ignored her and tried to keep my head high. Fighting back tears, I glanced around the living room quickly. The room had once been filled with love, peace and laughter, but today it was filled with pain.

“Sign the divorce papers,” Lucas said coldly. His voice felt like ice, and I couldn’t look at him for long.

“Shouldn’t you beg?” Matilda smirked. “Maybe Lucas will leave you something if you ask nicely.”

“She’s so ungrateful,” Isabella added. “She even rejected Lucas’s $100,000. I wonder how she plans to survive.”

“How else?” Matilda laughed cruelly. “Sleeping with men, like the slut she is.”

Their words cut deep, but I didn’t respond. Lucas stood there silently, watching. He didn’t stop them. He didn’t say anything to defend me.

My hands shook as I signed the papers. With each stroke, it felt like I was losing pieces of myself. When I was done, I stood, ready to leave.

But then a voice stopped me.

“Now you believe me, don’t you?”

I turned slowly, and my heart sank. Sabrina was walking toward Lucas.

“What’s going on?” I asked, confused. “Sabrina, you’re supposed to be watching my twins!”

“I don’t watch bastards, Elena,” she said calmly. “I left them in the hotel room.”

Her words hit me like a punch. I panicked. My twins were left alone all by themselves. Her niece and nephew!. Even if she hated me so much, how could she be so mean to innocent children?

“I shouldn’t have doubted you, Sabrina,” Lucas said. His voice had a softness I desperately longed for in the last 24 hours. “You were right. The DNA test proves the twins aren’t mine.”

My legs felt weak. I looked between them, my mind spinning. Was I dreaming?. I pinched myself a bit, then harder, it had to be a dream. But I was wrong.  It was real. 

Sabrina stood next to Lucas, smiling. His family looked at her with approval, like she belonged there.

“I admire you, Sabrina,” Matilda said. “You stood up for what’s right, even though she’s your sister. You protected Lucas from her lies.”

“You’re nothing like her,” Isabella added, holding Sabrina’s hand. “You’re welcome in this family anytime.”

Sabrina smiled shyly, then glanced at me with a triumphant look.

“Sorry, sis,” she said, her voice dripping with false pity. “But Lucas deserves better.”

I couldn’t hold back my tears. They fell freely, hot and bitter.

How could she do this? My own stepsister. I thought she had changed after high school, but I was wrong. She had always been jealous. After I met Lucas, she had pretended to be kind and supportive, but it was all a lie. She had tricked Lucas, turned his family against me, and now stood there, proud of destroying my life. It all made sense—was it possible that she falsified the DNA results?

I looked up at them, knowing nothing I said would matter. They wouldn’t believe me. So, I turned away, my twins on my mind. Tears streaming down my face, I ran out of the living room.

“Don’t you ever come back here again… keep running and don’t stop!” Isabella called after me, her voice dripping with mockery.

I didn’t stop, not because of her words, but because of my twins. I couldn’t survive if anything happened to them. I kept running, and I didn’t stop until I got to the hotel.