Chapter 3
Seeing that I wasn't budging, Dorian looked visibly annoyed. He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the kitchen.
"You can pack later. Elena needs to eat. Go cook," he said.
I yanked my hand away from him, my expression cold and sharp. "I'm not the maid."
Dorian looked like he wanted to say something, but I cut him off again. "Back at my parents', I never had to cook."
He didn't know what to say, or maybe he was just worried Elena would go hungry. Dorian shot me a cold look, grumbling as he stormed out to grab takeout for Elena.
For the first time, I didn't run after him to smooth things over.
A few seconds later, the front door finally slammed shut.
After I finished unpacking, I was about to leave the room when I heard Elena whining playfully from the bathroom.
"Dorian, I forgot my towel again. It's in my suitcase. Can you get it for me?" she called out.
Again? Without even realizing it, I stopped in my tracks.
When Dorian didn't answer right away, Elena called out again, her voice teasing and sweet. "Come on, I can't walk out naked this time, not with Patricia here. Can you bring me my nightgown on the bed?"
Just looking at the nightgown made my stomach turn.
It was the sexy lingerie I'd teased Dorian about, saying I'd wear it for him on our wedding night.
When Dorian still didn't answer, Elena just strolled out in nothing but a towel, showing off her figure.
When she saw me, she didn't even blink. It was clear she'd said all that just to get a rise out of me.
Right in front of me, Elena slipped into the lingerie like I wasn't even there.
"Oh, Dorian's not here? Why didn't you say something? If I'd known, I would've just gotten dressed. Isn't this awkward for everyone?" she cooed.
"Is the porkchops done yet? I'm starving," Elena whined.
I clenched my fists, marched right up to her, and slapped her hard across the face. "Who do you think you're trying to impress with the sexy nightgown?"
Dorian's voice suddenly rang out from behind me. "Patricia, are you out of your mind?"
He was holding a cake, and I could just make out the words written on it. [100 days since your pup passed. Elena, keep smiling!]
Seriously? On the night our engagement party got called off, Dorian could still be bothered to commemorate the 100 days since Elena's dog passed away.
"Apologize to Elena right now! Is this how the Reed family welcomes guests? Do you think being rich lets you do whatever you please?" Dorian snapped.
I couldn't care less about Dorian's questions. All I wanted was to get out of this place.
Elena came charging at me.
"Patricia, even if it's fine that you slapped me, how can you ignore Dorian? What, do you think you can bully him just because he married into your family?" she snapped.
Elena tried to grab my suitcase, and in the struggle, she ended up tumbling to the floor.
Dorian dragged me to the hospital with them. "If Elena gets hurt because of you, I'm breaking off our engagement. I could never marry someone as heartless as you."
Before I could call Neil, who was still waiting in the garage, Dorian confiscated my phone.
He said, "Don't even think about getting your parents to pressure me into rushing the wedding again."
After the nurse finished a quick check-up on Elena, she glanced at the medical records Dorian had brought.
The nurse said, "The mom's fine for now. Can the baby's dad fill out the ultrasound form? We'll need to run some more tests."
Dorian gave me a quick, nervous glance, but the moment our eyes met, he looked away, his voice suddenly quiet and low. "I'm... the baby's father."
If Dorian hadn't taken my phone, I would've walked out of that hospital right then and there.
While Dorian was busy checking in at the front desk, I slipped into Elena's hospital room and started rummaging through his bag.
"Well, look who's sneaking around like a thief, Miss Reed," Elena sneered.
Her words were so ridiculous, I almost laughed out loud.
I gave Elena a dismissive look. "I'm nowhere near as capable as you. You just have to act cute and openly seduce someone else's fiancé."
Elena's cheeks burned red. She cleared her throat, sat up straighter, and pulled off her double eyelid stickers with a meaningful look.
"Patricia, in a relationship, the one who's not loved is the third party. Dorian felt sorry for me when I got my eyelid surgery, but when you had your abortion last year, he signed off without even blinking," Elena said. "I'm nothing like you."
My hand stopped mid-search as I stared at Elena lying on the bed, completely stunned.
"Wasn't it an accidental miscarriage?" I asked.