As Y/N stepped through the front door, the stillness of the house felt heavier than ever before. The quiet hum of the heater, the faint ticking of the clock—all seemed to amplify the silence in her own mind. The kids were already asleep, safe in their beds, unaware of the storm swirling in her heart. She lingered by their rooms, watching the soft rise and fall of their breathing, letting the innocence of their slumber offer her a momentary calm.
When she reached the living room, Elizabeth was sitting on the couch, looking up as Y/N entered. Relief and irritation flickered across her face, tension lingering in the air between them.
"Where were you?" Elizabeth's voice was sharp, layered with impatience.
Y/N closed her eyes, took a breath, and answered with quiet resolve, "With Miranda."
Elizabeth's face tightened, her mouth opening to argue, but Y/N raised her hand to stop her. "Before you say anything, it was only a conversation. I just needed clarity. And now..." She gestured toward the couch. "Now, I need to talk to you."
Elizabeth hesitated, her brows knitting in confusion as she sank back down onto the couch. Y/N sat beside her, her gaze steady, and yet, under the surface, her heart was racing.
"Elizabeth," she began, voice calm yet laced with the weight of what she was about to say. "I know about the prenup... the divorce... the money."
Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock. She looked away, her lips parting as if searching for the right words to deny it. Y/N leaned forward, grounding herself, her voice steady but urgent.
"Don't lie to me," Y/N whispered. "I don't want excuses or stories. I just want the truth, Elizabeth. I know enough to understand that there's a lot you haven't told me, but I need to hear it from you. Just be honest, please."
Elizabeth froze, a deep sadness crossing her face, her shoulders sagging under the weight of the secret she'd held for so long. Her gaze dropped to her hands, fingers trembling slightly as they twisted in her lap.
"It started after Amelia was born," Elizabeth began, her voice barely above a whisper. "My dad... he started putting pressure on me. He wanted me to—" She stopped, a small hitch in her breath as she struggled to find the words.
Y/N waited, letting her finish, her face soft but unreadable.
Elizabeth looked away, her voice shaking. "He wanted me to pull away from you. Told me to make you feel like you were losing me. To be colder, distant... He wanted me to make you feel like our marriage was falling apart, to push you to leave."
Y/N swallowed hard, her mind spinning. Elizabeth's words were digging into places she had always felt but never fully understood, confirming the uneasy moments she had often dismissed or buried.
"I didn't want to do it, but he kept threatening me," Elizabeth whispered, her hands now clenched tightly. "He said... he said he'd hurt the kids if I didn't do what he asked. That he'd make sure they weren't the only thing taken from us, that our whole life would be ruined. He... he controlled everything."
Elizabeth's voice cracked, her eyes filling with tears as she continued. "He even hired someone—Behati... he coached her into being everything he knew you'd want. He wanted her to seduce you, to make sure you'd stray. It was all set up. He thought if you left me first, I could file for divorce and take the money."
Y/N clenched her jaw, her heart racing. "All of this... all of this was just to get my money?"
Elizabeth's hands dropped, her head lowered, and she nodded slowly. "His business... it's been going under for years. He's been desperate, and I... I didn't know what else to do." Her voice was barely audible, raw with emotion. "And you cheated but you owned up to it... but even then you wouldn't leave... you wouldn't leave me, you just kept trying to talk and trying to fix things... so... my dad he...... he forced me to cheat with Luca."
" Behati texted My dad when you were coming back from Italy. He made me call Luca and... everything was planned so that you would walk in and catch us... I never... I never thought you'd get that mad... I never meant for Luca to get hurt in the process"
Y/N's fists tightened at her sides, and yet she held her ground, refusing to break the calm exterior she had fought to maintain. She needed to understand this, to hear it fully before she reacted.
Elizabeth's eyes shimmered with tears. "I didn't want to do any of it. But he kept saying that if I didn't, he'd destroy everything we had. He... he even told me when to get pregnant. Said it would secure the prenup. He pushed me to time everything perfectly. I didn't... I didn't even know what I was doing anymore. I was just following orders, terrified of what would happen if I didn't."
The weight of her words hung in the air, pressing down on Y/N as she processed the depths of the deception. She felt a mix of sorrow and anger, a tumultuous blend of betrayal and heartbreak as she looked at Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth," Y/N's voice was soft, but there was an unmistakable edge to it. "Did you ever want this? Any of it? Marrying me, building this family—was it real? Or was it all just another piece of his plan?"
Elizabeth's face crumpled, her lip quivering as she struggled to answer. "Y/N, I... I love you. I do. But... I was so young, and my father was always in my ear, we had an arranged marriage and... I didn't even know you when we got married and I... I don't know if I ever wanted any of it then. I just... went along with it because I didn't know how to say no. But I am so happy that I married you, I can't picture loving or being with anyone else other than you. I didn't love you back then but I love you now..."
The admission hit Y/N hard, but she swallowed down the bitter taste of hurt, keeping her tone as calm as possible. "And the kids?" Her voice broke, betraying a flicker of vulnerability as she spoke. "Did you want them? Did you ever want to be their mother?"
Elizabeth looked down, a shadow crossing her face as her hands fidgeted, twisting and untwisting. "I love them, Y/N too...I do, truly... But... I wasn't ready. I never really wanted to be a mother. Not then, not the way it happened. I wanted to work, to grow my fashion brand, to build something for myself. I... I wanted more than just being a wife and mother."
" do you regret having kids Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth looked away " S....sometimes yes... I love them and I love being their mom but... I wasn't ready Y/N... there's so much more that I wish I had accomplished and... I just... I wish I'd had the choice of waiting to become a mom... I don't regret our kids... I regret the timing of it."
Y/N closed her eyes, each word settling heavily in her chest. She took a slow breath, letting the silence fill the space as she absorbed the weight of Elizabeth's confession. She had always thought of their children as the ultimate testament to their love, and now... now it felt like something fragile, as though the foundation of their family had been built on quicksand.
After a long pause, Y/N opened her eyes and looked at Elizabeth with a sad, understanding gaze. "So... if I were to offer you a way out," she said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper, "if I were to give you a divorce and let you keep anything and everything you wanted, if I let you walk away... would you take it? Would you choose a life where you could start over, not tied to me, not tied to the kids you weren't ready for? Would you want that?"
Elizabeth's breath caught in her throat. She looked at Y/N with tears streaming down her face, her eyes wide with fear and uncertainty.
"I... I don't know,"
