By the Time I Regretted, It Was Over

I was speechless.

Furious, Alaric flung a photo onto the floor. It landed face up—

Seraphine, broken and bloodied, hung lifeless from a tree. Her body, once full of laughter and warmth, was now twisted with bruises and gashes.

The sight made me scream. I covered my eyes, my entire body trembling.

That image had haunted my nightmares for months.

“You can’t even look at her,” Alaric spat. “Then tell me what that bastard did to her!”

He grabbed my chin and forced me to meet his eyes.

“I swear, Elysia—testify, and I’ll send Arianne away. Right now.”

My eyes burned with unshed tears, but I gave him a cold smile.

“No need.”

His grip froze on my shoulder.

“You’d rather watch me with her? Watch us, again and again, like some sick punishment?”

“It’s okay.”

Pa!

His palm cracked across my face.

His fist shook with fury.

“You’re disgusting, Elysia,” he growled. “You’re a goddamn bitch!”

His words cut deeper than the slap ever could.

How had it come to this?

Back in school, when boys mocked me for being plain, Alaric had beaten a dozen of them black and blue for me.

When we got married, he wouldn’t even let me touch the stove. If I so much as nicked my finger, he’d hold my hand for minutes, blowing on the wound as if it pained him more than me.

I used to think that love would last forever.

That he would always protect me.

“Alaric…” I finally whispered.

He turned sharply.

There was hope in his eyes—brief, flickering.

I tried to rise from the floor but collapsed again, the pain in my chest stealing the air from my lungs. The memory of Seraphine’s lifeless body flashed before me.

I clutched at the fabric over my heart, forcing myself to look up.

That’s when I noticed the door wasn’t fully closed.

Arianne hadn’t left.

She stood in the shadow of the hallway, peeking through the gap, one finger raised to her lips.

A wicked smile played on her lips as she made a silent shhh.

"What were you going to say?" Alaric pressed.

He was still waiting. Still clinging to the illusion that I might forgive, that I might confess something redemptive.

I said nothing.

He stepped closer.

"You must have something to say."

“Alaric.”

Arianne’s voice rang out sweetly from behind the door.

Alaric stiffened.

But he didn’t leave. He stayed there, eyes fixed on me, waiting for an answer.

I glanced toward the door, saw the tension flicker across Arianne’s face.

Then, slowly, I reached into a drawer and pulled out a box of Durex condoms.

“Don’t forget this,” I said coolly.

His eyes darkened. He let out a low, bitter laugh and flung the box at me. It bounced off my chest and landed on the floor.

Without another word, he stormed off.

Arianne gave a satisfied smirk as she stepped back in and gently shut the door behind her.

The click echoed like a gunshot.

I clenched the fabric at my chest and leaned against the wall, knees still raw, cheek stinging.

No... not yet.

Just a little longer.

I searched the entire manor before I finally found a dusty first aid kit tucked away in a forgotten cabinet. My wounds were clumsy and hastily treated, but they stopped bleeding.

Alaric didn’t return for a full month.

Then one day, the front door burst open with a bang.

He came charging in, cradling a pale and blood-streaked Arianne in his arms. A full medical team followed behind—private, top-tier, the same team that had once been on standby for me… before Seraphine died.

“Call the doctor!” he shouted. “Hurry up!”

I stood there, numb, as he paced outside the emergency treatment room, wringing his hands.

Suddenly, he turned on me.

“Why did you push her?!”

I blinked, stunned.

“She’s over a month pregnant! Did you know that and still choose to hurt her?!”

I looked at him, then at Arianne lying inside the room.

Her brows were barely furrowed. She looked more bored than in pain.

But her wails were loud and piercing, echoing off the walls.

She turned her face slightly and shot me a warning glance.

And I—

I smiled.

“Yes,” I said, calmly. “So what if I did?”

Alaric’s expression collapsed.

He stared at me, like he no longer recognized the woman in front of him.

“Do you even know what you’re saying?”

I looked him dead in the eyes.

“I do.”