Seren stood in the main lobby, her hand still wrapped in a thin bandage from last night's glass shard injury hidden beneath the folds of her apron.
Her face was as pale as paper. The effects of last night's heart attack still left a throbbing pain behind her ribs, but Beatrice would not allow her to lie down. Her mother-in-law had been standing at the front door since six in the morning, wearing a dark blue velvet dress that showed her control as the lady of the house.
"Stand up straight, Seren," Beatrice admonished without turning her head. "Don't show your pain. You'll only make our guests uncomfortable."
Seren just looked down. She didn't have the energy to defend herself. Her eyes remained fixed on the shiny marble floor, where Mark's shadow appeared from the direction of the stairs.
Mark descended in a perfectly ironed gray suit. His face was fresh, as if last night's incident, where he had pushed his wife until she was covered in blood, had never happened. He didn't even glance at the bandage on Seren's hand. To him, the wound was Seren's own fault for being too careless.
"The car is already at the gate," Mark said briefly, glancing at the Patek Philippe watch on his wrist.
Seren's heart was beating painfully. A black Bentley slowly glided past the fountain and stopped right in front of the main door. The family driver immediately opened the passenger door.
A woman got out of the car. She wore a loose, cream-colored knit dress, but it still accentuated her bulging belly—a bulge that to Seren was clear evidence of Mark's betrayal. The woman was beautiful, with beautiful honey brown hair and a very sincere smile.
That was Haelyn.
Mark stepped past Seren and Beatrice. He greeted Haelyn with a very gentle gesture, his large hands circling her waist to help her maintain her balance. The sight made Seren feel as if a knife was twisting in her stomach. Mark had never treated her so gently.
"Welcome, Haelyn," Beatrice's voice changed drastically to a sweet tone, something Seren had never heard in the last three years. "We've been waiting for you."
Haelyn smiled shyly, looking at Beatrice then turning to Mark with a loving gaze. "Thank you, Mother Beatrice. I'm sorry if my presence is inconvenient."
"Of course not. You bring the future of this family," replied Beatrice, glancing cynically at Seren, who was still frozen behind them.
Mark led Haelyn into the lobby. As they passed Seren, Haelyn stopped in her tracks. She looked at Seren with eyes that seemed to be filled with tears of emotion, a performance that was flawless.
"You must be Seren, right? Mark's wife?" Haelyn asked softly. She extended her delicate hand toward Seren. "I'm sorry I had to come like this. I know this is hard for you, but I just want this baby to grow up close to his father."
Seren stared at the hand. She felt nauseous. The sweet, floral scent of Haelyn's perfume felt suffocating. Before Seren could respond, Mark had already pulled Haelyn's hand away.
"Don't apologize to her, Haelyn. She already knows her place here," Mark said coldly. Mark then looked at Seren with a warning glint in his eyes. "Seren, starting today, Haelyn will stay in the room next to the master bedroom. I want you to make sure all her needs are met. Don't let her get tired."
Seren looked up, her reddened eyes staring at Mark in disbelief. "The room next to the master bedroom? Mark... that's your study, which is directly connected to our bedroom."
"That's Haelyn's room now," Mark cut in firmly. "I want to be as close to her as possible in case something happens to the baby in the middle of the night. Given your frequent illnesses, I can't rely on you to help in an emergency."
The insult was so blunt that Seren felt as though she had just been slapped in public. Mark was openly placing his mistress at the center of his life, right next to their wedding bed.
"But Mark, I'm your wife..." Seren's voice trembled.
"A barren wife," Beatrice continued in a harsher tone. "Stop talking about status, Seren. Haelyn is the priority in this house now. Take Haelyn's suitcases upstairs and prepare warm water for her bath. She's tired after the long journey."
Seren stared at the pile of luxury brand suitcases near the door. She was Mrs. Valerius, but in front of the woman carrying her husband's child, she was treated no better than a senior maid.
Haelyn looked at Seren with a gaze that seemed to express pity, but behind it, Seren could see a hidden glint of victory. Haelyn deliberately rubbed her stomach in front of Seren, a very subtle provocative gesture.
"Mark, don't be too hard on Seren. I feel bad if she has to carry my suitcase," said Haelyn in a spoiled tone.
"She needs to learn to be useful, Haelyn. All this time, she's just been a burden," Mark replied as he began guiding Haelyn up the stairs.
Seren stood alone in the spacious lobby while her husband, mother-in-law, and the other woman went upstairs as a complete family. She bent down, grabbing Haelyn's heavy suitcase. The bandage on her hand began to seep red again as the stitches pulled, but the pain in her skin was nothing compared to the destruction of her dignity, which now lay scattered on the marble floor.
She began to drag the suitcase up the stairs one step at a time, each step feeling like a nail piercing her heart. From upstairs, she could hear Haelyn's soft laughter and Mark's low, attentive murmurs—sounds that had always been her dream, but were now given to someone else under the same roof.
Seren dragged Haelyn's last suitcase into the room she had just decorated with white lilies that morning. Her breath was labored, her chest felt hot as if embers had slipped into her lungs. She turned toward the door that connected directly to her main room and Mark's. The door was wide open, revealing Mark gently placing Haelyn's handbag on the sofa with a tenderness Seren hadn't felt in three years.
"Rest, Haelyn. I have to go to the office for an urgent meeting, but I'll be home for lunch to keep you company," said Mark.
"Thank you, Mark. Be careful on the road," replied Haelyn in a spoiled tone that made Seren's ears ring.
Mark turned and walked out. As he passed Seren, who was still standing weakly in the corner of the room, Mark paused for a moment. He didn't look at Seren's face, but at the bandage on her hand, which was starting to turn red again.
"Clean the bloodstains on her suitcase. Don't let Haelyn feel disgusted seeing your filth on her belongings," Mark said coldly, then he walked away without a hint of remorse.
As soon as the sound of Mark's footsteps disappeared in the corridor, the atmosphere in the room changed drastically. Haelyn, who had previously appeared weak and gentle, now stood tall. She walked toward the expensive vanity mirror, admired herself, then turned to Seren with a smile that no longer looked sweet. It was the smile of a predator.
"You heard that, didn't you? Mark wants you to be my personal servant," Haelyn said sharply. There was no longer any trace of the sweet tone she had used when Mark was present.
Seren clutched her apron. "Mark just wants you to be comfortable because you're pregnant. Don't think you can walk all over me in this house, Haelyn."
Haelyn chuckled, a dismissive laugh. She stepped closer to Seren, the distance between them only a few inches. Haelyn deliberately thrust her growing belly toward Seren.
"Walk all over you? Seren, you've been walked all over since you entered this house as a barren woman. Do you know why Mark agreed to let me stay here? Because he's sick of seeing your pale face every day. He needs a woman who can give life, not a living corpse who only knows how to complain about heartache."
"Shut your mouth!" Seren hissed, her voice trembling with pent-up emotion.
"Oh, you're angry?" Haelyn tilted her head. She suddenly grabbed a crystal flower vase on the nightstand—the vase Seren had prepared that morning with her hands covered in cuts. "These flowers... their scent is so cheap. Just like you."
Clang!
Haelyn dropped the vase right in front of Seren's feet. The crystal shards and water inside splashed onto the marble floor and the bandage on Seren's unprotected foot.
"Clean it up. Now!" Haelyn ordered.
Seren stared at the shards, then looked at Haelyn. "You did that on purpose."
"Of course. I want to see how far Mrs. Valerius will go to humiliate herself in order to maintain her dead marriage," Haelyn replied sarcastically.
Seren knelt down, trying to pick up the pieces of glass one by one with her injured hands. Every time she bent over, her heart ached painfully. Haelyn stood above her, watching Seren's every move as if she were watching an entertaining comedy show.
Suddenly, Haelyn crouched down beside Seren. She whispered right into Seren's ear, her voice cold as ice. "Do you want to know a secret? Mark never touched you not because he respected you, but because he felt disgusted at the thought of having to touch a sick woman like you. He told me that every time he saw you, he felt like he was at a funeral home."
Seren's blood boiled. The pain in her chest peaked. Unconsciously, she pushed Haelyn's shoulder away from her. The push was weak, very weak because of Seren's poor condition.
However, Haelyn reacted as if she had just been pushed with tremendous force.
"Aaaah!" Haelyn screamed loudly. She deliberately fell backward, landing right on top of a pile of sharp crystal shards. "It hurts! Mark! Help me!"
Seren froze. "What are you doing? I didn't—"
The door burst open. Mark was standing there. It turned out he hadn't really left—he had come back because he had left his cell phone in the office next door. Mark's face paled when he saw Haelyn sitting among the broken glass with bloodstains appearing on her expensive dress, while Seren stood in front of her with her hand still raised.
"HAELYN!" Mark shouted in panic. He ran over and immediately picked up Haelyn, who was starting to sob hysterically.
"Mark... it hurts... Seren... she pushed me... she said she hates this baby..." Haelyn whimpered as she clutched Mark's shirt, her face hidden in his chest.
Mark turned to look at Seren. His gaze was no longer cold, but filled with pure, deadly hatred. He stepped toward Seren, carrying Haelyn, who continued to whimper.
"You..." Mark's voice trembled with uncontrollable rage. "You really want to kill my child?"
"I didn't push her, Mark! She fell on her own!" Seren shouted, tears streaming down her face.
"Shut up!" Mark snapped. He raised one hand, and for the first time in their three years of marriage, Mark slapped Seren so hard across the cheek that she fell to the floor covered in broken glass.
Seren groaned in pain as her hand was pierced by another crystal shard. She looked up, seeing Mark staring at her as if she were a disgusting demon.
"If anything happens to Haelyn and my baby, I'll make sure you rot in prison, Seren!"
Mark turned and rushed Haelyn out, shouting for the family doctor. Seren remained lying on the floor, fresh blood flowing from her palms and feet, but she felt more like her heart had stopped beating.
Suddenly, Mark's phone, left on the nightstand, vibrated. A message came in from an unknown number.
Seren crawled with what little strength she had left, reaching for the phone. The screen lit up, displaying a message that made her entire world seem to explode.
"The drug is working well on Seren. She's starting to lose her memory permanently. Complete the final stage before her sister finds her."