Chapter 2: Defiance
Almost two months had passed since the incident. During this time, Eleanor had not stepped outside the house. She spent most of her days locked away in her room, avoiding the hushed whispers of the household staff whenever they caught sight of her. Their stolen glances and murmured gossip felt like invisible daggers, piercing her already shattered spirit.
Her family, though busy with their own affairs, checked on her from time to time. James, her fiancé, called her almost every day, his voice the only familiar comfort in the silence that surrounded her.
That afternoon, as the maid placed a salmon salad before her, an unexpected wave of nausea crashed over her. The smell alone was unbearable. She barely made it to the sink before she vomited, her body trembling as she emptied the contents of her stomach. Weakened and drained, she staggered back to her room without touching her food.
An hour later, her stepmother, Jeanne, insisted on taking her to the hospital for a check-up. Eleanor wasn't particularly worried; aside from the occasional nausea, she felt mostly fine. Just a lingering discomfort, an odd aversion to certain smells.
But when the doctor handed her the report, the weight of the world collapsed upon her. Her knees buckled, and she sank to the cold floor, her hands clutching the paper with trembling fingers.
She was pregnant.
Her mind reeled, her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. No. No, this couldn't be happening. She wanted to scream, to tear the results apart as if that would erase the truth. Her stepmother, to her surprise, caught her before she could hit the ground and guided her back home without a word.
Once inside, Eleanor locked herself in her room, curling into a ball on her bed. Tears streamed down her face, silent sobs shaking her frame. She was lost. Alone. Trapped in a nightmare that refused to end.
Then, her phone rang. It was James.
She picked up on the first ring, his familiar voice flooding through the speaker—but it wasn't the warm, reassuring tone she had hoped for.
"Why did you hide it from me?" His voice was sharp, laced with anger. "How could you be so careless? Pregnant with some wild man's child?"