Mending My Heart Without You

The day I was officially brought back to the Harrington estate as their long-lost biological daughter, Daphnethe girl who had lived my life for twenty yearsstepped forward with tear-brimmed eyes and offered to give me back her engagement.

I rested my hand against my flat stomach, where a newly confirmed pregnancy was quietly beginning to take shape, and gave a soft, dismissive shake of my head.

"There's no need," I said, my voice barely a murmur. "I already love someone else."

The moment the words left my mouth, strange, semi-translucent words drifted across my vision like a floating chat feed.

[Lmfao, this villainess thinks she's so slick rejecting him now. Just wait till she sees the male lead; shell regret it instantly.]

[Too bad the male lead only has eyes for our precious female lead, Daphne. The villainess is just going to use her pregnancy to cling to him like a leech.]

[Ultimately, she drives Daphne to slit her wrists, gets disowned by the family, despised by the male lead, and dies on the operating table during childbirthboth her and the baby.]

I lowered my gaze, finding the floating words utterly absurd. Me? Obsessing over a wealthy stranger to the point of self-destruction?

Just then, footsteps sounded from the entryway.

Daphne wiped her tears and rushed toward the newcomer. "Adrian, this is Beatrice... my sister. The engagement was always meant to be hers."

I turned around, and my eyes locked with a pair of painfully familiar ones.

It was Adrian Kingsley. The man who had kept me as his private secret for five years. The father of the child growing inside me.

1.

When Adrian saw me, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes. But it was gone in an instant.

He masked it, slipping into a cold, polite, and distant demeanor.

"Miss Harrington," he said, his voice smooth and empty. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

He patted Daphne's hand comfortingly, his tone gentle but absolute. "Don't say such things, Daphne. Our engagement was settled years ago. It isn't going to change."

The text in my vision flared up instantly.

[Here we go! The bitter second-choice sister is about to throw a tantrum, expose their secret affair, and force a wedding!]

[I bet she uses the pregnancy as a weapon to snatch the engagement right now!]

I took a slow, deep breath, pulling my gaze away from him.

"Mr. Kingsley," I said, keeping my voice entirely steady. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too."

The floating text hesitated.

[Wait... that's it? Why isn't she making a scene?]

[She's playing hard to get. Just watch.]

[Ah, the classic 'retreat to advance' strategy. High-level manipulation.]

Adrian hadn't expected this reaction. He cast a sharp, warning, and deeply searching look at me.

My biological mother, Catherine, immediately pressed, "Beatrice, you just said you love someone else? How far did things go with him?"

Everyone's eyes locked onto me. I looked at Adrian. He maintained a perfectly calm facade, but I saw the slight tremor in his clenched fist.

I smiled faintly. "Far enough... that he had to go back home to marry someone of his own social standing. So, I got dumped."

Silence fell over the room. Catherine looked like she had swallowed a fly. Richard, my father, coughed awkwardly, shifting his gaze. Adrian's face darkened, visibly and violently.

Daphne chimed in, "So, Beatrice... you really don't want the engagement?"

"I don't," I said, clean and absolute. "Since you two are so deeply in love, the engagement is yours."

The text drifted by:

[Fake! So fake! Shes definitely going to corner him in private and cry to him later!]

My biological parents looked visibly relieved. Catherine stood up. "Beatrice, let me show you to your room. Daphne's health isn't great, and she shouldn't sit up too long."

My room was at the very end of the hall. It was small, cold, north-facing, and lacked any natural light.

Catherine gave a dismissive shrug. "You'll stay here for now. Daphne has lived in her room for twenty years; it wouldn't be fair to make her move. You're the older sister, Bea. Be understanding."

Richard stood by the door, adding, "Daphne has always been fragile and sensitive. Try to let her have her way. We need peace in this family."

I looked around the room, which was smaller than Daphne's walk-in closet, and nodded. "Alright."

After they left, there was a knock. It was Adrian. He stepped inside and hissed, "Beatrice, keep your mouth shut. The last five years were nothing but an act of charity on my part. A transaction."

"Daphne is the one I am marrying. You'd better remember your place."

I touched my stomach, feeling the weight of the positive pregnancy test in my pocket. I had thought returning to my biological family would bridge the social gap between us. I thought I could finally stand by him openly.

It turned out it was all in my head.

I choked down the bitterness. "Adrian, we're done."

He froze. I shut the door in his face.

2.

Adrian was clearly infuriated by my indifference. He blocked the door, but before he could speak, footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Daphne appeared, carrying a fruit platter. Seeing us alone, her eyes instantly welled with tears.

"Beatrice... do you still blame me for keeping the engagement?" She whimpered. "I really didn't mean to... If you love Adrian, I... I can step aside..."

Catherine rushed over, her brow furrowing deeply. "Beatrice! You just got back, and you're already tearing this house apart? Daphne's heart can't take this stress!"

"How can you be so shameless, trying to seduce your sister's fianc on your very first night?"

The text erupted:

[Aha! Caught red-handed! The villainess is definitely going to drop the pregnancy bomb now!]

[Classic white lotus victim act. The sister is about to lose her mind and start screaming!]

"I didn't do anything," I said, my voice dead. "If that's all, I'd like to sleep."

Without waiting for a response, I shut the door.

Outside, I heard Catherine soothing Daphne.

The text:

[Wait, shouldn't she be screaming? This is weird.]

[She's playing the long game! Her acting is getting way too good.]

I ignored the floating words. My phone buzzed. It was a massive wire transfer from Adrian.

Then a message: "Keep quiet about the past. Do it out of respect for what I did for you."

I let out a bitter laugh.

Yes, he had saved me. Five years ago, when my adoptive grandmother was dying, I had just finished high school. My college acceptance letter had arrived, but I was working at a sleazy high-end club to pay her medical bills. That night, a group of men cornered me in a private VIP room. They threw drinks on me, tore at my collar. I screamed, but no one heard.

Adrian had kicked the door open, knocked them down, and wrapped his jacket around my shoulders. He didn't ask questions. Just said, "Do you need money?"

I nodded, tears streaming down my face. He gave me a card. "Take it. Go to college. Don't come back to places like this."

He saved me, saved my grandmother's life, and gave me a future. He funded my education, visited me, and eventually, on a rainy night in my small apartment, we became lovers.

Before she died, Grandma Ruth held his hand and said, "Take care of Beatrice." He had promised he would.

I believed him. For five years, from age eighteen to twenty-three, I gave him my youth. I learned his habits, prepared his meals, studied finance and business to understand his world. He told me his family wanted an equal match, and asked me to wait. To wait until he had enough power to marry me.

Yesterday, I found out I was pregnant. Before I could tell him, the Harringtons found me.

I thought we were finally equals.

But he chose Daphnewho wasn't even a Harrington by blood anymore.

My eyes blurred. I opened my email and clicked on a message from three days ago: an unconditional offer for a Master's degree at the Royal College of Art in London.

I clicked "Accept".

Adrian, the baby, the five yearsI was leaving them all behind.

The text:

[Wait, what is she looking at? An English website?]

[Who cares, she's probably plotting her next move to trap Adrian.]

I turned off the screen, staring into the dark.

3.

The next morning, Daphne brought a hot bowl of lobster bisque to the table. "Beatrice, you have to try this. It's delicious."

"No, thank you," I said politely.

She insisted, stepping closer, and suddenly slipped.

The scalding bisque spilled all over my thighs, the porcelain bowl shattering on the floor. My skin turned angry red, and I gasped at the burning pain.

Daphne burst into tears. "Beatrice, I'm so sorry! It was an accident!"

Catherine spoke first, blaming me: "Why didn't you catch it?"

Richard frowned. "So clumsy and slow."

The text:

[Here it is! She's going to use this to make a scene!]

[She definitely dodged it on purpose. So manipulative!]

[Serves her right for trying to steal Adrian!]

Adrian arrived just then. Daphne threw herself into his arms, sobbing. Adrian held her, glaring at me. "Daphne was just trying to be nice. Why do you have to be so hostile?"

I looked at my biological parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Harrington, did I throw the bowl?"

They fell silent, but Richard waved his hand. "Your sister is shaken. That's what matters."

To comfort Daphne, Richard announced, "The small boutique agency we were going to let Beatrice managewe'll give it to Daphne instead."

Adrian added, "I'll throw in some prime advertising accounts as an engagement gift for her."

"Fine by me," I said quietly.

The text:

[Why isn't she fighting back? Something is off...]

Back in my room, another transfer from Adrian arrived: "Stop targeting Daphne."

I accepted the money. Then, I slowly typed a message and sent it:

"Adrian, do you even remember I'm severely allergic to shellfish?"

Silence. Minutes later, another massive wire transfer appeared.

I smiled and took it all. Consider it my severance pay.

Outside, I heard Adrian's car engine and Daphne's giggles. He was taking her shopping.

By evening, they returned. Shortly after, Daphne ran into my room, crying. "Beatrice! My pink diamond necklace is gone! Adrian's engagement gift..."

She showed me a photo. My chest tightened. I knew that necklace.

A year ago, Adrian took me to an auction and let me pick anything from the catalog. I chose that pink diamond. He bid aggressively and won it.

I waited for him to give it to me, but he never did. When I finally asked, he said he had given it to his cousin.

It had been for Daphne all along.

The text:

[Look at her face! She definitely stole it!]

[Search her room!]

Adrian stared at me coldly. "Beatrice, you were the only one home today. Give it back."

"I didn't take it."

Catherine hurried in. "We aren't accusing you, Beatrice, we're just asking if you saw it."

"Yes, Bea," Daphne sniffled. "It's incredibly expensive..."

It was a blatant accusation. Adrian looked at me with deep disappointment.

That look stung, but only for a second. I was too exhausted to care.

"I've been in my room all day. If you don't believe me, check the security cameras in the hallway and parlor."

Adrian's expression shifted. Daphne froze.

"Oh, let's not get security involved. It ruins the family harmony," Catherine muttered.

Just then, a maid ran in. "Miss Daphne! The necklace was slipped behind your nightstand! I found it and put it away!"

The room went dead silent.

The text:

[Wait, it was a mistake?]

[She really didn't steal it? This is getting weird...]

Adrian looked stiff. He sent another wire transfer: "Sorry for the misunderstanding."

I accepted it.

In my room, I opened my browser and scheduled an appointment at a clinic to terminate the pregnancy.

The text:

[What is she doing? I can't see the screen...]

[Whatever, she's definitely planning something devious.]

I locked my phone and closed my eyes.

4.

Daphne's birthday party was a grand affair. Catherine forced me to attend. "If you don't show up, what will people think of us? That our real daughter is too embarrassing to show in public?"

At the gala, Daphne gave a tearful speech thanking the Harringtons for raising her. Guests cooed, "What a sweet girl. More of a daughter than the biological one."

People looked at me in my quiet corner. "Is she the real one? She looks like a statue." "Raised in the sticks. No class."

Adrian stayed by Daphne's side all night, wiping her tears, completely devoted.

I sat in the corner, my wine untouched. The noise felt like suffocating waves. I slipped away early and went back to my room.

When I opened the door, I froze.

My desk had been ransacked. Drawers were pulled open.

I rushed to the nightstand. Grandma Ruth's vintage jade bracelet was gone.

I ran back to the ballroom.

In the middle of the crowd, Daphne was holding the green jade bracelet up to the light, laughing. "Beatrice lent it to me. Isn't it pretty?"

"Give it back," I said, my voice shaking.

Daphne gasped, startled, and dropped it.

"Crack."

The bracelet shattered into pieces on the marble floor.

The room fell silent. Daphne immediately started crying. "Beatrice... I'm so sorry, it was an accident..."

Guests whispered, looking at me like I was a madwoman.

Adrian walked over, glancing at the pieces. "It's just a bracelet, Beatrice. Is all this drama necessary?"

I knelt on the floor, picking up the broken jade. The sharp edges sliced into my fingers, blood dripping onto the stones, but I felt nothing.

"My grandmother left this to me," I whispered. "The last thing she told me before she died was to keep it safe."

Adrian's face paled. He knew exactly what Grandma Ruth meant to me. He had been there.

But Daphne wailed louder, burying her face in his chest. He hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her. "Don't cry. I'll get you a much better one."

Catherine stepped forward. "Beatrice, your sister didn't mean to. Don't be so petty."

Richard frowned. "Enough. It's just a bracelet. We'll buy you a similar one later."

I stood up, clutching the broken jade in my bleeding hand.

I walked up to Daphne.

And I slapped her, hard, across the face.

The crowd gasped.

The next second, Adrian lunged forward, grabbed my wrist, and his other hand came down

"Slap."

He hit me back.

My cheek burned, and I tasted copper.

Adrian's eyes were icy. "Beatrice, you went too far."

The text:

[Oh my god... that was her grandmother's only keepsake.]

[Adrian is a monster! He knew how much she loved her grandma!]

[I kind of get Beatrice now. Who wouldn't lose their mind?]

I wiped the blood from my lip. I didn't cry. I didn't scream.

I wrapped the broken jade in a handkerchief and slipped it into my pocket.

"The debt I owed you for saving me... is paid in full."

I looked at Richard and Catherine. "This family... I don't want it."

I turned and walked out of the ballroom.

Catherine yelled after me, "Let her go! If you walk out that door, don't you dare come back!"

My phone vibrated repeatedly.

Adrian sent a wire transfer: "Stop being angry."

My parents both sent wire transfers labeled "Compensation".

I accepted every single one.

The next morning, I went to the clinic alone. I signed the consent forms, changed into a hospital gown, and lay on the operating table.

"Do you have anyone with you?" the nurse asked.

"No."

The procedure was quick.

When it was over, I walked out of the clinic, pale and hollow, holding two pieces of paper.

An ultrasound showing a fetus at eight weeks.

And the surgical termination receipt.

I returned to the empty Harrington house, grabbed my pre-packed suitcase, and left.

At the airport gate, I opened my chat with Adrian.

I typed out a message:

"Adrian, I paid back your kindness with five years of my youth and a life. From now on, we are even."

I attached photos of the ultrasound and the medical receipt.

I hit send.

Then I blocked him, deleted his contact, turned off my phone, took out the SIM card, and threw it into a trash can.

"Final boarding call for Flight 108 to London..."

I stood up and walked toward the gate without looking back.