CELESTE's POV:

It had been weeks since that one night that could change everything, and now the weight of my decision pressed on me like a curse I could no longer escape.

The truth stared me in the face, undeniable.

Pregnant. Says the double lines on the Pregnancy strip I held as I stared at it with a blurry gaze, fighting hard to hold back the tears that threatened to spill, but I couldn't any longer.

They rolled down my cheeks. Quietly.

Deep down, I had always known.

The nausea, the missed cycle, the unshakable exhaustion, but they were not accidents. They were proof. My body was harboring something forbidden, a secret that should never have existed.

If anyone at home ever discovered it, I knew what awaited me: rejection, disgrace, exile with no way back. And that was a nightmare because I had no one to turn to or anywhere to go.

So I bore the burden in silence, guarding the secret as if my life depended on it because as a matter of fact, I had brought this upon myself.

I couldn’t drag anyone else into this mess, least of all Blake.

Maybe it was about time I followed Seraphina's advice and crawl my way out of this house before anyone finds out.

With trembling hands, I pushed myself off the cold tiles and wiped the tear-streaks from my cheeks. Stepping out of the bathroom, I crossed to my wardrobe, pulled out a few clothes, and shoved them into a bag. My fingers hesitated before slipping the small strip inside.

I swung the bag over my shoulder, heart pounding. No one will notice you’re gone…not for a while, a voice whispered cruelly in the back of my mind. And I clung to that thought as I stepped out of the bedroom, praying it was true.

....

“Yes, darling. You know I miss you. Blake? Ugh, he’s unbearable. Too predictable. Too clingy. I can’t stand another night with him breathing down my neck.”

I paused, my chest tightening.

It was coming from Seraphina’s room.

Slowly, carefully, I crept closer. The door was cracked just enough for me to see her sprawled across her bed in her silk nightgown, the glow of her phone lighting her face.

My throat closed.

Blake.

I could remember the look on his face and the desperation in his voice that night when he begged me, thinking I was Seraphina.

But Seraphina only twirled her hair, a smirk tugging her lips. “You’re the only one who excites me. You’re the only one I want. I’ll sneak out tomorrow night. Don’t worry, he’ll never know. He’s far too blind. I have him wrapped around my little finger like a puppy.”

My bag slipped from my arms before I realized it, clothes scattering across the floor.

Her head jerked up. “Who’s there?”

Panic shot through me, but I couldn’t hide. I bent to gather the clothes, hands fumbling. The door flung open, and there she was glaring.

“You,” she spat. “Spying again, are you?”

“I wasn’t spying,” I said quickly, my voice trembling. “I—I heard everything, Seraphina. How could you? Blake trusts you with everything he has, and you—”

The sting of her slap silenced me. My face snapped to the side, the taste of blood on my tongue.

“Don’t you dare lecture me,” she hissed.

I steadied myself, refusing to let the tears fall. “Why do you keep doing this? Why him? He doesn’t deserve any of it.”

Her eyes darkened. And then, before I could react, she shoved me hard. My back slammed against the staircase railing, the sharp wood biting into my spine.

“Stay out of my life, you pathetic leech!” she screamed, and then she pushed again, harder this time.

My body tumbled down the steps, pain exploding through me with each crash until I landed with a sickening thud. My vision blurred.

Just then, with my eyes barely open, I saw her walk towards the staircase with something held up in her hand as she grinned cunningly.

I squinted, trying to focus my gaze when I realized what she held.

The Pregnancy Test Strip.

"No, no, no, no."

****

A hard slap crashed against my cheeks, throwing me to the floor in front of everyone in the sitting room.

Blake was amongst us, and he had a look of disgust on his face towards me. A look I never wished to see on his face. I was sure he hates me now. He was still trapped in disbelief, unable to accept the truth.

Meanwhile, Seraphina was at the side, bawling her eyes out, mascara streaked on her cheeks, earning sympathy from everyone present as they tried to console her.

"Mother, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to—" I sobbed, snot rolling out.

"How could you do this to your very own sister, you ungrateful brat! How could you!" She screeched at me.

"Celeste is not my sister! She never will be!" Seraphina screamed, cutting mother off as she choked on her tears—or the performance of it.

"Mum, I knew Celeste had always envied me, but what I didn't know was how low she's willing to stoop! She had the guts to get in bed with my fiancé! How could she do this to me, mother?" she cried harder. "And now, she's pregnant—for him. My life is ruine, mother. My relationship with Blake is fucked up now because of her!"

Everyone had found out the truth, despite how much I had desperately tried to hide it.

I didn't want to complicate things, nor did I want to implicate him. I just wanted to leave this household as quietly as I could, but then things got messy, and Seraphina found the strip when my bag fell.

She immediately called everyone's attention before I could stop her. It was her way of getting revenge on me for trying to talk her out.

And when I tried to keep the truth to myself, the pressure and threats got too much for me to bear, so I couldn't hold it in anymore. I told them who the father was and how it happened.

Everyone refused to believe me. Calling for Blake to come over to our residence immediately that evening with a threat that if I was lying, I would be disowned and thrown out into the streets with nothing.

When he came, and they told him exactly what was happening, he objected without second thoughts, saying it was impossible. He could never do such a thing, especially not with his fiancée's sister. Those words stung right in the place I hurt the most.

Seraphina suggested that they check the CCTV footage to confirm if I've been seeing anyone around the house since I was always confined to my room.

I tried to stop them, I promise that I did but they were too defiant to stop, and then they saw everything. The footage from weeks ago in the hallway. How Blake had come in drunk, forcing himself on me, and I didn't do a thing to stop him.

It was more reasons why I was at fault.

"You don't have to worry, Sera. She can't ruin your relationship with Blake for any reason," my mother said in a hardened voice, and my gaze flickered to her.

What does she mean? I thought.

"She must get rid of it. Tonight."

A gasp escaped my lips, "What? No!"

"I will take responsibility for the child," his deep voice cut through, and for a moment I thought I had heard him wrong.

"What are you saying, Blake?" Seraphina shot up from the couch immediately. "Are you out of your mind?!" She demanded.

"No, I am not, Sera. She doesn't have to abort it since I am clearly the one responsible, but Celeste..." his gray eyes pierced into mine, void of any warmth. "...must not expect any form of love or loyalty from me. My heart will always belong to Seraphina. Forever."

And just like that, my fate was sealed. A scandalous marriage of no affection, no hope. Only cold nights in a silenced mansion.