Chapter 2.
She Cheated On Me.
Elara Winterfell.
A cold compress over the back of my head and my vision began to regain its focus. My body was so heavy that I could barely move my legs.
“You're awake.” A sharp voice said beside me which jolted me wide awake.
“Kenna!” I voiced out in surprise at the tone of the maid that my boyfriend had assigned to me. “What happened?” I was still a little disoriented about my surroundings.
“It's a good thing that you are finally awake!” The sharp voice came again until my eyes focused on the maid who was packing her bags up to leave. “My job here is done with you! I'm going back to my boss' house.”
“I don't understand.” I was confused. “What's happening, Kenna? Why are you leaving suddenly?” The numbness in my legs had subsided now, and I could move my hands and legs.
I struggled to sit up, and a splitting headache filled me with so much pain as soon as I did that, almost causing another blackout.
“I have always respected you, Lara. As my future lady boss, I have always held you in a high regard. But you don't see all that my boss has done for you, you disregard it like it's all nonsense and go ahead to whore yourself around with any man you can find, now you're pinning a pregnancy on him. Have you no shame, Lara?”
I shook my head in denial, memories of the past few hours filling my head. Why was everyone saying this? I did not cheat on Connor, I would never do that. I loved him so much that no other man could hold a candle to him. How could I possibly cheat on Connor?
“I think you have it all wrong!” I tried to explain slowly, unsure of the next words that would come out of my mouth. “I have never cheated on him before, I swear. Kenna, you know me. You know the things I'm capable of. You know I would never do that to Connor, right? You know I love him so much…"
“You never truly know anyone," Kenna said with a pity filled voice. “I thought I knew you, Lara. But I didn't. None of us did. Not even your best friend did!”
“Isabel?” My brows furrowed in a frown of confusion. “What about Isabel? Why is she in the matter now? She believed me! She stood up for me! Even if the whole world doesn't believe me, Isabel does!”
A sad smile came over Kenna's face. “Does she really? Why was she so quick to say yes to Connor's marriage proposal yesterday? Why did she suddenly agree to be his bride and walk down the aisle with him today?”
It was like a switch had gone off in my head, and nothing else made sense to me. I could feel a sense of fear begin to engulf my entire being. I wouldn't believe that. Isabel would never do that to me. We've been through so much as best friends for her to betray me like that.
“Isabel wouldn't do that!” I said firmly and Kenna's lips only curved into a mocking smile.
“Alright, if you say so. The marriage is happening live on TV, and you can check it out yourself. Meanwhile, I will see myself out of the house. I hope you have a smooth pregnancy journey, and that's if you decide to keep the child.” And with that, Kenna rolled her box out of the house.
I was still in disbelief, it wasn't true. Isabel was like a sister to me. She wouldn't… But, I found my hands shakily moving on their own towards my side where the remote lay and turned on the TV. Finding the entertainment channel, I stared at the headlines for a few seconds, and my heart suddenly dropped to my stomach.
“N…no…no… It can't be possible!” The tears started pouring freshly from my eyes. “Why would Isabel do this to me? Why would she? She's supposed to be with me! She's supposed to side with me!” I let out an anguished wail as I cried into my pillow.
Connor's voice came in, and my eyes snapped towards the television. His face filled the screen as a reporter came up to ask him some questions. It seemed like the wedding was over and everyone was focused on the entertainment.
“Mr. Connor, your marriage with Isabel Reeds has taken the world by surprise.” The female reporter said as she smiled at him. “Everyone was believing that once your marriage is announced, we will be expecting to see Elara Winterfell. Why? What happened? Why the change of heart?”
I held my breath to listen to what he had to say. To hear the explanation, he had for the world. To listen to the reason for this immense betrayal! My heart began to race as soon as his mouth opened.
“It's quite simple.” Connor said as a matter of fact, unconsciously touching his clean and shaved jaw. “Elara made us believe she was something pure and good, until we found out in the dirtiest manner possible that she isn't who she says she is.”
“Oh?” The frown on the reporter's head deepened as she kept on asking. “How so?”
“Well, she first cheated on me.”
There were gasps of surprise on the faces of everyone there, even Isabel's well painted face was downcast as if she were sad about the revelation. She came up beside Connor immediately and tried to hold his hand, whispering something into his ears with a slight frown on her face.
Connor gave her a soft smile, the same smile he used to give me when he was trying to reassure me about something. “It's alright, my love. Everyone needs to know the truth about her. I know she was your best friend, and you want to cover up for her, but the whole world has to know who she is so no one else will fall victim to her plans.”
The reporter seemed to agree with Connor. “Yes, Isabel. Allow him to speak. Everyone is entitled to know what happened. I mean, we were all rooting for the relationship between both of them to work out, only for this to be thrown on our faces. We need to know the truth.”
Isabel gave a look of defeat and turned away from the camera.
“I will talk to her.” Connor said, referring to Isabel. “She is still sensitive to these things.” His face suddenly turned grim. “Elara first cheated on me, then pinned the pregnancy on me.”
“How despicable!” The reporter suddenly spat out in deep resentment. “After you've treated her very well over the years?”
Connor just shook his head with a small smile. “That's just what she is.”
I could not believe my ears! I just couldn't! This was not happening to me. I had to talk to Connor. I had to explain things to him. I had to explain to him that I didn't cheat. He took my virginity during his best friend's birthday. Maybe he just didn't remember the details because we were all drunk, but I had to explain. I had to also clear my name.
Throwing on a weird combination of clothes, I ran and hopped into my car, racing to Connor's house. I wasn't concerned with the headache that threatened to knock me out. My mind was fixated on Connor.
“I need to speak to him. You have to open the gate, Clyde." I yelled with tears in my eyes at Connor's gate man.
“I'm sorry, ma'am, but we have orders not to let you into this house.” He said in a plain voice and advanced towards the car. “Also, please, you need to step out of the car. Our boss will like to have his car back.”
“What?” I exclaimed in shock.
Why was everything happening so fast to me? Why wasn't I able to wrap my mind about what was going on? But, I wasn't able to coordinate my thoughts even as the door opened. I was pulled out of the car with a lot of force which made me hit my stomach on the edge of a slab.
The pain quickly radiated throughout my entire body, and I struggled to find something around her to grip. My skin was covered in scratches at the impact of being thrown to the ground. The pain in my lower belly intensified, and I felt something trickling down my legs.
Was that… blood?