Chapter 170 CHAPTER 170:A DIFFERENT PERSON IN THE SAME BODY
The fourth night was the hardest.
Elara could feel it in the air.
Something about Calvin had changed.
The quiet patience he had maintained over the past few days was beginning to crack, like glass slowly splintering under pressure. The calm tone, the calculated silence,it was fading.
And what remained underneath it scared her far more.
She sat on the narrow bed, one hand resting protectively over her belly. The baby shifted gently, as if sensing her anxiety.
“Easy,” she whispered softly to herself, though she wasn’t sure whether she was calming the child or her own racing heart.
Outside the small room, she could hear Calvin moving around the house.
Footsteps.
A chair scraping the floor.
The dull sound of something being thrown against a wall.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Then the door opened.
Calvin stepped inside.
He looked worse than before.
His hair was unkempt, his shirt wrinkled, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Elara watched him carefully.
And Calvin watched her belly.
His gaze lingered there too long.
It made her skin crawl.
Finally, she broke the silence.
“Why are you doing this, Calvin?”
Her voice was steady, though her heart was pounding against her ribs.
Calvin tilted his head slightly, as if the question genuinely confused him.
“What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
She sat up straighter, forcing herself to meet his eyes.
“You abducted me. You’ve kept me here for days. Wayne is looking for me everywhere.”
His lips twitched faintly.
“Yes. I’m aware.”
“You need to stop this,” she said quietly. “This isn’t going to end the way you think it will.”
Calvin laughed under his breath.
“You sound like Wayne.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
He stepped closer.
Too close.
Elara instinctively shifted back on the bed.
Her hand moved protectively over her stomach.
That small movement didn’t go unnoticed.
Calvin’s eyes dropped to it again.
“You’re protecting him already,” he said softly.
“It’s my baby.”
“No,” Calvin murmured.
His voice changed.
Lower.
Colder.
“That baby should be mine.”
The words sent a chill down Elara’s spine.
She stared at him, disbelief flooding her face.
“What?”
Calvin ran a hand through his hair, pacing slowly across the room like a man fighting something inside his own mind.
“You weren’t supposed to end up with Wayne.”
Her brows furrowed.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It makes perfect sense.”
“You’re his brother!”
“And?”
“You think this is normal?” she asked, her voice rising slightly.
Calvin stopped pacing.
His expression hardened.
“No,” he said. “What’s not normal is Wayne taking everything.”
Elara blinked.
“Everything?”
“The inheritance.”
“The business.”
“The family reputation.”
He gestured toward her belly suddenly.
“And now you.”
Elara felt the fear grow in her chest.
“You’re wrong.”
Calvin laughed again.
That same hollow laugh.
“I’m wrong?”
“Yes.”
She forced herself to stay calm.
“You’re blaming Wayne for things that aren’t even his fault.”
Calvin’s eyes darkened instantly.
“He took what was meant for me.”
“Elara,” he corrected sharply.
Her breath caught.
“That’s not true,” she said quickly. “I chose Wayne.”
The room went very quiet.
Too quiet.
Calvin’s jaw tightened.
“You chose him,” he repeated slowly.
“Yes.”
“You fell in love with him.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re carrying his child.”
Elara nodded cautiously.
“Yes.”
For a moment, Calvin said nothing.
He simply stared at her.
Then suddenly—
He slammed his fist against the wall.
The loud crack echoed through the small room.
Elara jumped, her heart racing.
“You weren’t supposed to choose him!” he shouted.
The sudden outburst made the baby kick inside her.
She winced slightly.
Calvin was breathing heavily now.
His chest rising and falling rapidly.
“You were supposed to see him the way I do,” he continued angrily. “A thief. A fraud.”
“He’s not!”
“He stole my life!”
“No he didn’t!”
“He stole everything!”
His voice was rising with each word.
“Elara, the house was meant to be mine.”
“The company was meant to be mine.”
“The future was meant to be mine.”
He pointed toward her belly again.
“And that baby too!”
The words made her blood run cold.
“No,” she whispered.
Calvin stepped closer again, his eyes wild now.
“Yes.”
Elara shook her head slowly.
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I’m thinking perfectly clearly.”
“You need help.”
His face twisted with anger.
“I don’t need help.”
“You do.”
“Wayne is the one who ruined everything!”
“No,” she said firmly.
“You’re ruining everything right now.”
Calvin froze.
For a moment, something flickered across his face.
Hurt.
Then rage replaced it.
“You don’t understand anything,” he said quietly.
“I understand enough,” Elara replied.
Her voice trembled slightly now, but she forced herself to continue.
“I understand that you’re hurting. But this isn’t going to fix anything.”
Calvin’s eyes narrowed.
“You think this is about fixing things?”
“Yes.”
“It’s about taking back what belongs to me.”
Elara’s stomach dropped.
“Nothing here belongs to you.”
“Wrong.”
His voice was dangerously calm now.
“You belong with me.”
Her heart pounded.
“No.”
“That baby should carry my name.”
“No!”
“Elara”
“Stop!” she shouted suddenly.
The word echoed through the room.
For the first time since the conversation began, Calvin looked slightly startled.
Tears had filled her eyes.
“I love Wayne,” she said firmly.
“He’s my husband.”
“This is his baby.”
“And you will never change that.”
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Dangerous.
Calvin stared at her for a long moment.
Then slowly, something shifted in his expression.
Not anger.
Not sadness.
Something darker.
“You’re afraid of me now,” he said quietly.
Elara didn’t answer.
But her silence said enough.
Calvin smiled faintly.
“There it is.”
She felt the fear tighten in her chest.
“You finally see me the way Wayne does.”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“You’re scaring me.”
Calvin’s smile widened slightly.
“I’m not trying to scare you.”
“You are.”
“No.”
He stepped toward the door.
“I’m trying to make you understand.”
“Understand what?”
He paused in the doorway and looked back at her.
“That everything Wayne has…”
His eyes dropped to her stomach one last time.
“…should have been mine.”
The door closed behind him.
The lock clicked.
Elara’s hands began to shake.
Tears slipped quietly down her cheeks as she wrapped both arms protectively around her belly.
Calvin wasn’t just jealous.
He wasn’t just angry.
He was breaking.
And the more he unraveled, the more dangerous he became.
She closed her eyes tightly.
“Wayne,” she whispered softly into the silence.
“Please find us.”