Seren froze, her eyes widening as she stared at the string of words on the phone screen, a huge question mark hitting her mind. But before her confused mind could piece together an answer, the sharp sound of high heels snapped her back to the tense reality.
With a painful reflexive movement, she slipped the phone back into its place just as the door opened, coinciding with Beatrice's entrance. Beatrice carried a suffocating aura of dominance, staring at Seren with pure hatred in her eyes, without a hint of suspicion.
Beatrice stood in the doorway, folding her arms across her chest as she looked with disgust at the mess on the floor.
"Why are you still standing there like a statue, Seren?"
She stepped forward, letting the tip of her shoe step on the puddle of broken vase water as if it were nothing. "Look what you've done to Haelyn. Are you so jealous that you've lost your mind? Lucky Mark took her away from you... otherwise, I can't imagine what other reckless and disgusting things you would have done to harm that girl."
Beatrice snorted, her eyes sweeping over Seren's pale face without a hint of pity. "You really are a self-centered parasite."
Seren could only open her mouth without making a sound, her throat felt blocked. She wanted to scream that she was the victim here, but Beatrice's oppressive aura silenced all her defenses until she could only bow her head in despair.
The next night, the atmosphere of the mansion changed drastically. The main dining room was now bathed in the light of sparkling crystal chandeliers, and the long table was perfectly set with the finest silver and porcelain for a banquet dinner.
Seren was forced to attend, wearing a long-sleeved dress to cover the wounds on her hands.
"Why are you still standing there, Seren? Don't you know where you belong tonight?" Beatrice's voice broke the silence. Her mother-in-law sat at the end of the table with the elegance of a queen, wearing pearl jewelry that sparkled under the chandelier.
Seren turned slowly. "Mother... I just want to know where I should sit."
Beatrice snorted, pointing to a small table in the corner of the kitchen that was usually used by the servants to drink coffee or prepare food. The table was small, its position very remote from the luxury of the main dining table.
"Tonight is a special dinner to celebrate Haelyn's pregnancy. We need a positive atmosphere full of life," said Beatrice, wiping the corners of her mouth with a silk napkin. "Your pale face and sickly aura will only ruin Haelyn's appetite. Mark agrees that it would be better for you to eat there, away from our sight."
Seren felt her heart beating painfully. She turned to Mark, who had just entered the room. Her husband had changed into an elegant black shirt. Mark glanced at Seren, then at the waiter's table her mother had pointed to.
Mark did not defend her. He did not even show the slightest hesitation in his eyes.
"Sit there, Seren. Don't cause any trouble tonight," Mark said curtly.
Shortly thereafter, Haelyn entered with deliberately soft steps. She was wearing a very soft pale pink silk dress that accentuated her stomach, which was still flat but had become the reason for her power in this house. Mark immediately stood up from his chair, walked over to Haelyn, and guided her to sit in the chair right next to him—the chair that should have belonged to Seren.
"Thank you, Brother Mark," Haelyn whispered. It was enough to destroy what little self-respect Seren had left.
Seren walked toward the waiter's table with a limp. She sat down on a hard wooden chair, staring at the plain white porcelain plate in front of her, which contained only a piece of dry bread and a little clear soup. It was a stark contrast to the luxurious dishes on the main table a few meters in front of her.
From her position, Seren could clearly see how Mark treated Haelyn. The man who was usually very cold and unapproachable was now picking up his knife and fork. Very carefully, Mark cut the wagyu steak into small pieces that were just right for Haelyn to eat.
"Eat a lot. You need nutrients for our baby," Mark said attentively.
Haelyn accepted the bite with sparkling eyes. "This is delicious, Mark. But... is Seren okay eating alone over there? I feel bad."
Beatrice interrupted sharply, "Don't worry about her, Haelyn. She's used to living like that. She's just a burden in this house. Focus on your pregnancy."
Seren lowered her head, staring at her empty plate. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She remembered the short message on Mark's phone that she had found—about the memory poison and the plan to eliminate her.
She saw Mark brush the corner of Haelyn's lips with his large thumb, a very intimate gesture. Seren felt nauseous. Not because of her heart disease, but because her husband was flaunting his affair so proudly in front of her. It was as if Mark wanted to emphasize that Seren was no longer human in his eyes, but merely an inanimate object that happened to still be breathing in a corner of their house.
"Mark..." Seren's voice broke through the silence of the kitchen.
Mark stopped feeding Haelyn. He turned toward the kitchen with a sharp, displeased look. "What else, Seren? Can't you just let us eat in peace?"
"I... I just wanted to ask, is that medicine Mom gives me every morning really for fertility?" Seren asked in a trembling voice. She tried to muster up the last of her courage.
The atmosphere at the main dining table suddenly froze. Beatrice put down her fork with a loud clink. Beatrice's eyes flashed with anger and menace. Mark narrowed his eyes, his jaw clenched.
"Why are you asking such a stupid question?" Mark asked coldly. "Are you doubting Mother's good intentions?"
"I just feel like my head hurts a lot and I'm starting to forget things..."
"That's because you are mentally and physically weak, Seren!" Beatrice snapped, her voice booming in the dining room. "How dare you accuse me at the dinner table! If it weren't for the expensive medicine I gave you, you might have died last year!"
Haelyn suddenly moaned softly, clutching her stomach. "Mark... my stomach suddenly feels tight. The atmosphere here is very scary..."
Mark immediately turned to Haelyn, his face once again filled with excessive concern. He looked at Seren with natural hatred. "Look what you've done, Seren! You're stressing Haelyn out with your unreasonable suspicions! Get out of here and go to your room! You're not allowed to eat dinner tonight as punishment for ruining the atmosphere!"
Seren stepped back, away from the wooden table in the corner of the kitchen. The clinking sound of silver cutlery from the main table could be heard again, followed by Mark's soft murmurs as he tried to calm Haelyn down. The sound felt like thousands of needles piercing Seren's eardrums.
She walked through the dining room, not daring to look up. She could feel Beatrice's sharp gaze, like a dagger, as if it wanted to skin her back. Seren went up the stairs.
When she reached the second floor, Seren entered her small room at the end of the hallway, far from the master bedroom, which was now occupied by Haelyn. As soon as the door closed, Seren slumped to the floor. She didn't turn on the light. She let the darkness envelop her, accompanied only by the pale moonlight shining through the window.
Her stomach ached. Not only because she was hungry, but because of the overwhelming nausea caused by her overflowing emotions. She reached into her dress pocket and took out the blue cufflink box, wet with last night's dried blood—the only thing that still made her feel like she had an identity.
"Mark... why are you so cruel?" Seren whispered into the darkness.
Suddenly, the soft sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor. Not Mark's heavy, decisive footsteps, but light, deceptive ones. The footsteps stopped right in front of Seren's door.
Click.
The door opened slowly. Light from the corridor streamed in, forming the silhouette of a woman wearing a pale pink dress.
Haelyn walked in without permission, then closed the door behind her. She leaned her body against the door, staring at Seren, who was still sitting on the floor, with a triumphant look. There were no more moans of stomach pain or the gentle, weak face she had shown Mark earlier.
"You look pathetic, Seren," said Haelyn. "Did you really think Mark would defend you? In his eyes, you're just an obstacle to the future of Valerius' heir."
Seren looked up, her eyes red from holding back tears. "Get out of here, Haelyn. You already got the dining table, you already got Mark's attention. What more do you want?"
Haelyn chuckled softly. She walked over to Seren's nightstand, her slender fingers touching the bottle of medicine lying there—the medicine Beatrice had forced Seren to swallow that morning.
"You know what's in this bottle, don't you?" Haelyn twirled the amber glass bottle. "It's not a fertility supplement. Beatrice doesn't want you to get pregnant. She wants you... to disappear. Slowly, until you don't even remember your own name, let alone the name of your sibling who's searching for you out there."
Seren tensed. "What do you mean? Sibling... who?"
Haelyn didn't answer. Instead, she dropped the bottle of medicine onto the floor, shattering it and allowing the thick black liquid to seep into the carpet. "Mark knows everything, Seren. He knows this medicine will kill your memory, and he lets it happen. Because to him, you without memories are the best version of yourself, an easily controlled wife."
"You're lying!" Seren screamed, trying to get up despite her trembling body.
"Really? Then why has he never taken you to a real heart specialist?" Haelyn leaned closer, whispering right into Seren's ear. "Tonight, Beatrice will give you the final dose. The dose that will make you truly gone before dawn. Mark has agreed to it so he can marry me officially without any legal interference from you."
Seren's blood seemed to freeze. At the same time, the door to the room swung open roughly. Beatrice stood there with a very dark expression, holding a glass containing the same liquid as the one in the bottle earlier.
Behind Beatrice, Mark stood with his hands in his pockets, his face expressionless, staring at Seren as if he were staring at an unburied corpse.
"It's time to take your medicine, Seren," said Beatrice. "Haelyn, get out of here. Let me take care of my son's wife one last time."
Mark didn't move. He didn't stop his mother. He just stood there, a silent witness as Beatrice stepped toward Seren with the deadly glass.
Beatrice pressed the lethal dose of memory poison directly to Seren's lips, while Mark stood frozen, acting as his mother's accomplice.