Chapter 3 update
Selina smiled in happiness.
That smile bloomed beautifully on her face the moment Axel ended the phone call that terminated his marriage to Vanesa. There was no guilt in Selina’s eyes—only satisfaction, as if a long-awaited victory had finally been hers.
“Is it done?” Selina asked sweetly, her fingers tugging at the sleeve of Axel’s suit.
Axel nodded. “It’s over.”
Selina immediately wrapped her arms tightly around him, resting her face against his chest. Her body trembled slightly—not from sorrow, but from overwhelming joy.
“I can’t believe it…” she whispered, her voice trembling with deliberate fragility. “You really did it for me.”
Axel lifted Selina’s chin, gazing at the face that had haunted him for the past seven years. “I would do anything for you.”
Selina smiled widely. “Even divorce your wife?” she asked, as if needing to hear it out loud.
“She means nothing to me,” Axel replied without hesitation. “Vanesa was just a woman who happened to be my wife. Nothing more.”
The words slipped easily from his lips—light, effortless. Without burden. Without pain—except for the woman who would hear them from afar.
Selina looked at Axel with sparkling eyes. “You know,” she said softly, “I was always afraid you would choose her. Seven years isn’t a short time.”
Axel pulled Selina closer. “Those seven years never meant anything,” he said coldly. “I only love you. I did then. I do now. And I always will.”
Selina smiled in satisfaction. She pressed a soft kiss against Axel’s chest, then hugged him again.
“I love you, Axel.”
“I love you too.”
On the other side of the city, Vanesa sat stiffly in the car taking her home from the hospital.
In her lap, she clutched a small ivory-white box tightly. It held no beautiful memories, no gifts—only the ashes of a child she had never even had the chance to hold.
Her hands trembled as she touched the surface of the box.
“I’m sorry, my baby…” she whispered softly. “Mama couldn’t protect you.”
Axel’s face flashed through her mind. His cold voice. The divorce words spoken without empathy. And his confession that the child—the life she had carried with her whole soul—had never meant anything to his own father.
Tears slid slowly down her cheeks.
Vanesa wiped them away roughly. She was too exhausted to cry anymore. All that remained was emptiness.
The car stopped in front of the house she had once called home. The grand, magnificent building now felt foreign. She stepped out slowly, carrying the box of ashes as if she were holding the remains of her shattered world.
The moment the door opened, the sounds greeted her.
Soft breaths.
Light laughter.
A woman’s voice she knew all too well—Selina’s.
Vanesa froze at the doorway. Her body turned to stone.
“Axel…” Selina’s voice sounded sweet and intimate. “I still can’t believe this is real.”
“You’re real,” Axel replied quietly. “And now, you’re completely mine.”
Vanesa’s heart pounded violently. Her breath caught. Her grip on the box tightened.
She stepped inside slowly, every step feeling like dragging an open wound. The voices grew clearer as she approached the living room.
And there they were.
Axel stood in front of Selina, holding a small open velvet box in his hand. A sparkling ring rested inside.
“I’ve waited far too long,” Axel said with certainty. “Selina, will you marry me?”
Selina covered her mouth, pretending to be surprised. Tears of happiness streamed down her cheeks.
“Yes,” she sobbed joyfully. “Of course, I will.”
They embraced tightly.
And at that moment, Vanesa could no longer stand.
The small box in her hands slipped and fell to the floor with a soft sound that echoed deafeningly in the room. A bit of ash spilled out, scattering across the gleaming marble floor.
Axel and Selina turned at the same time.
Vanesa stood there—her face pale, her eyes empty. Her body trembled, yet her back remained straight.
“Vanesa…” Axel frowned. “What are you doing here?”
Vanesa looked at him for a long time. Far too long. As if she needed to be sure that the man before her was truly her husband—or her ex-husband—the man who had destroyed everything.
“I came home,” Vanesa said quietly. “This… was my home too. At least… it used to be.”
Selina glanced at Axel, then smiled faintly. “Axel, didn’t you already divorce her?”
Axel nodded. “Yes.”
Vanesa smiled bitterly. “So fast,” she murmured. “My child’s ashes haven’t even cooled yet.”
Selina frowned, feigning confusion. “Child?”
Vanesa lowered herself and knelt to retrieve the box of ashes with trembling hands. “Our child,” she said softly. “The one you threw away along with this marriage.”
Axel fell silent for a moment, then spoke coldly, “Don’t be dramatic, Vanesa. I’ve been honest. I never loved you.”
The words pierced Vanesa’s heart mercilessly.
“Seven years,” she said hoarsely. “For seven years I stood by you—when you fell, when your company was on the verge of bankruptcy, when you didn’t even believe in yourself…”
She lifted her face, tears streaming freely. “And it turns out I never meant anything at all.”
Axel looked at her without emotion. “You were just the woman who was there when Selina left. That’s all.”
Selina moved closer to Axel, wrapping her arm around his. “Axel loves me,” she said softly, yet cruelly. “And I will take care of him better than you ever did.”
Vanesa let out a small laugh—a fragile, broken sound.
“Don’t worry,” she said as she stood. “I won’t interfere with your happiness.”
She hugged the box of ashes to her chest. “I’ve already lost everything. There’s nothing left for you to take from me.”
Vanesa turned and walked away without looking back.
Behind her, Axel remained silent.
And for reasons he couldn’t explain—his chest felt slightly tight.