Elena wasn't born of her blood, but she was hers in every way that mattered.
Kiara still remembered the day they brought her home—tiny, sleepy-eyed, clutching at the edge of Gerald's coat. They had tried for two years back then. Doctor visits. Treatments. Hopes that rose and shattered again.
When all failed, Gerald had said they needed a child anyway, someone to secure his father's inheritance. Kiara hadn't cared about the inheritance. She had cared about the baby and had loved her on sight.
Now that laughter barely belonged to her anymore.
"Elena," Kiara said softly, crouching in front of her. "I'll come with you to your friend's party today."
Elena looked up, her small brows lifting. "But Nola is coming with me."
Kiara smiled carefully, holding her voice steady when she actually wanted to scream from frustration. "No, sweetheart. Mommy will take you today. You promised me yesterday, remember? Afterward, we'll get ice cream and go to the park. Just us."
Elena blinked, thinking it over. "But… Nola already said she's coming."
"Well, she doesn't have to," Kiara said. "I've cleared my day for you."
Elena frowned, "You don't dress nice like Nola. Nola dresses nicely and my friends like her."
Kiara straightened a little, her fingers curling against her palm. "Elena…"
"My friends' mommies said you don't have… a scent," Elena added hesitantly, her eyes darting down to the floor. "They said you're a scentless freak."
The last two words landed heavily in her heart.
Kiara's heart seemed to fold inward. The word "freak" wasn't new—she had heard it whispered since she was a child—but coming from her daughter's lips felt like being pierced from the inside out.
"Elena," she said slowly, forcing her voice to stay even, "do you know what those words mean?"
The child shook her head quickly, looking guilty on clearly sensing something was wrong. "I didn't mean it, Mommy. I promise. I just don't want my friends to laugh at me."
Kiara stared at her daughter, trying to hold herself together. "You think they'll laugh at you because of me?"
Elena hesitated. "They already do sometimes."
A deep ache spread through Kiara's chest, quiet and steady. "Elena… are you ashamed of me?"
"No!" The child's protest was sharp but uncertain. Then, after a pause too long for comfort, she mumbled, "I just… I don't want them to call you that again."
Kiara's breath trembled. "But I'm your mother."
Elena flinched, her small shoulders hunching. "You're not my real mother."
The world seemed to still.
For a second, Kiara couldn't even hear her own breathing.
"What did you just say?" she asked, her voice low, almost a whisper.
Kiara stepped closer, kneeling so they were eye to eye. "Who told you that?"
Elena's bottom lip trembled. "I… I—"
"Who told you?" Kiara asked again as she held her daughter's shoulders, her tone a tad sharper from shock. Elena's adoption had always been a secret—something she and Gerald agreed to protect. No one outside their home knew the truth.
Certainly not a five-year-old who didn't yet understand what adoption even meant.
Tears pooled in Elena's eyes. "Please don't be mad, Mommy."
Kiara softened instantly and she massaged her daughter's shoulders. "I'm not mad. I just need you to tell me."
Elena opened her mouth, hesitated, then looked over Kiara's shoulder.
Footsteps echoed softly from the staircase.
Kiara turned.
Nola was descending the stairs, her presence like a shadow slipping into sunlight—silent, smooth, deliberate. The morning light caught her golden hair, her calm smile. She moved with the confidence of someone who never feared being unwelcome.
"I did," Nola said simply.
Kiara didn't remember deciding to move.
One moment she was standing there, chest tight, ears ringing from Nola's calm admission. The next, her body reacted before her mind caught up.
She strode forward and shoved Nola by the shoulder.
Nola cried out dramatically, her body collapsing backward as if she'd been struck with full force. She hit the floor with a sharp scream, clutching her arm.
"Elena!" Nola cried. "Ah—!"
The sound ripped through the room.
Elena screamed and rushed forward immediately. "Nola!" She dropped to her knees beside her, small hands hovering helplessly. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Nola said softly, already tearing up. "I'm okay, sweetheart. Don't worry."
Kiara stepped closer and reached for her daughter's arm. "Elena, come here."
Elena jerked away. "No!"
The word was loud. Clear.
Kiara's hand dropped slowly.
"You hurt her," Elena said, her small face scrunched with anger. "You pushed her! Say sorry!"
The room tilted.
Kiara stared at her daughter, disbelief crashing through her chest. "Elena… she—"
"Say sorry!" the child repeated, tears forming now. "You were mean!"
Nola shifted carefully, sitting up, playing the part perfectly. "It's alright," she said gently. "Your Mommy didn't mean it."
Elena frowned at Kiara, full on sobbing, her eyes dark with disappointment. "You should apologize, mommy. Bad people have to say sorry when they hurt people."
Kiara couldn't move. The words stuck somewhere deep, tangled with humiliation and pain. She had never imagined a day where her child would look at her like this.
Nola reached out and pulled Elena closer. "Come here," she murmured. "Let me see your hair. I'll make it all pretty for you."
Elena sniffed and nodded, turning her back fully on Kiara.
Kiara stood there, rooted to the spot, as Nola gently gathered Elena's curls in her hands.
"You have such a lovely scent," Nola said warmly. "So strong already."
Elena's mood brightened instantly, her tears drying up. "Really?"
"Yes," Nola smiled. "You'll grow into a beautiful alpha one day."
Elena grinned wide. "Like you?"
"Just like me."
"I want to be a pretty alpha like you, Nola," Elena declared proudly.
Something twisted violently in Kiara's stomach. The urge to cry rose sharp and fast. So did something uglier—an image of clawing, of screaming, of destroying the woman in front of her.
She swallowed it down.
She wouldn't give Nola that satisfaction.
Footsteps sounded from the hallway.
Gerald entered the room, already smiling as he crossed over. He bent down and kissed Elena's head, then leaned over to press a kiss to Nola's lips like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Kiara stood a few feet away, suddenly aware of how alone she looked. How unnecessary.
"Daddy," Elena said quickly, "Nola and you are taking me to the movies later, right? To go see Moana?"
Gerald chuckled. "Of course."
Kiara felt like a stranger watching a family that wasn't hers. She remembered when her kid only used to see that movie with her. She even got tickets for that cartoon yesterday but her daughter refused to go with her.
Not long after, Nola and Elena left the room together, laughing softly, their voices fading down the hall.
Kiara didn't move until they were gone.
Then she turned to Gerald.
"You broke all your promises," she said quietly.
Gerald sighed impatiently, tone sharp. "What are you talking about now?"
"You promised me this affair wouldn't tear our family apart," Kiara said. "Look around. It already has, and the whole public knows about it."
He glanced at his watch, scoffing. "I don't have all day, Kiara."
That tone. Cold. Distant. Businesslike. It still shocked her sometimes—that this man was once gentle with her.
"She's turning my child against me," Kiara said. "Nola is poisoning her mind."
Gerald scoffed again. "Don't be ridiculous."
"She told Elena she isn't my real daughter."
"And?" he replied flatly. "That's not a bad thing. It doesn't change anything."
Kiara felt the words slice deep. "It changes everything. She wasn't supposed to know! What if that's the reason she doesn't love me anymore?!"
"No, I don't have time for any tantrums." he snapped. "What changes things is bad parenting, so stop these useless excuses. Elena is pulling away because you're failing as a mother. I guess that's not surprising since you've never been able to take in. Maybe you just aren't cut out to be a mother. Stop blaming Nola for your own shortcomings."
Kiara flinched at those cruel words.
"She's not doing anything wrong," Gerald continued. "You are. Own up to your faults like an adult next time."
Silence followed.
Kiara stared at him, her chest tight, her heart aching with something close to grief. "I want her out," she said. "You promised she wouldn't tear our family apart, she already has. My daughter doesn't love me anymore because of her. It's definitely her fault!"
Gerald laughed. A sharp, humorless sound.
"You think you can tell me what to do?" he asked. "Nola stays. No matter what. You'll live with it." He gritted out icily, a far cry from the man she foolishly married at eighteen.
Seven years together. Seven years of building a life she thought was solid.
He had sworn to love her exactly as she was—scentless, different, imperfect.
He said she was enough.
He lied.
~~~
Today, Kiara submitted a leave request. Mental exhaustion, she had written.
It felt like an understatement.
For years, she had carried the weight of that place on her shoulders. She handled schedules, negotiations, reports, decisions—things Gerald either didn't want to deal with or didn't understand. She had learned everything so well from his father that the company now smoothly thrived under her hands.
And Gerald took the credit.
At first, she told herself it didn't matter. They were married. What was his was hers.
That lie had been easier to believe when he still loved her.
Tonight, she cooked all of Elena's favorites, and set up the movie room with cute decorations, hoping her daughter would agree to spend some time with her after she returns this evening.
Coincidentally, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway snapped her out of it. Her heart lifted. She wiped her hands on a towel and smiled to herself, already picturing Elena's face when she saw the whole set up.
The front door opened.
Laughter floated in—high, excited, familiar.
Kiara took a step forward.
Then she heard Elena's voice, clear and eager.
"Daddy… why can't Nola be my new mommy?"
Kiara froze.
The words settled slowly, like something sharp sinking into skin.
Gerald's voice followed, calm, almost amused. "Why would you say that?"
There was a pause. Footsteps. The rustle of Elena's school bag being dropped.
"Because I want her to," Elena said quickly. "She understands me. She makes my hair very pretty. She buys me beautiful gifts and loves dolphins like I do. And she's always nice."
"And what about your actual mom?" Gerald asked.
Kiara's breath caught. She leaned back against the wall, her fingers pressing into the paint.
Elena didn't hesitate.
"She'll still be here," she said nonchalantly. "We'll still see her every day. But Nola can be my official mommy. I want that so bad."
Something inside Kiara cracked.
She didn't wait to hear Gerald's answer.
She turned and walked quickly down the hallway, her steps silent, her chest tight. She pushed open her bedroom door—the one Gerald hadn't slept in for months—and shut it behind her.
Only then did she stop.
Her hands shook as she leaned against the door. Her eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears fall. Not yet. She pressed her lips together, breathing slowly, counting in her head until the sound of blood rushing in her ears faded.
So this was it.
The thought came calmly, almost gently.
This marriage was already over. She had known it for a long time, but hearing it from her child's mouth made it final.
She needs to leave before she gets thrown out..