Chapter 6
† 288 Vouchers
For a moment, Eloise’s heart hollowed out. But then she smiled and nodded. “Alright.”
He hadn’t expected that. No crying, no pleading. Just acceptance. And somehow, that made his chest tighten with a new, dull frustration.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ellie told me it wasn’t you. She’s not doing well. I don’t have the energy to deal with a wedding right now.”
Eloise stayed quiet. It all sounded so ridiculous, but she didn’t say a word.
What was the point?
Eloise lay in bed, eyes blank, mind flooded with fragments of the past. She glanced at her phone.
Fifteen days until the wedding, to Mr. Bronner.
A sudden commotion came from the hallway. She pushed off the covers and walked to the door.
“I’m not marrying her.” Leon’s voice was sharp over the phone.
“You can’t do this to Eloise. She’s been with you for years-what do you mean, you’re not marrying her?!
“If I’m the reason you’re doing this to her, then what’s the point of me being alive? I’m just a burden!” It was Aurelie’s voice.
Eloise stood frozen, not sure what she was feeling. Then came Leon’s voice again-gentle, helpless.
“Alright. I’ll marry her. But please, take your meds, okay?”
The bitterness crept up her throat. Her chest tightened, and images from the past drifted in.
Back at Claire’s manor, she wasn’t even treated as well as the maids. Her mother used to turn the simplest ingredients into warm, comforting meals, but after she passed, Eloise barely ate. Anorexia followed. She grew thinner by the day.
When she got together with Leon, he started cooking for her, trying new recipes every day, refusing to let her eat alone. Whenever she lost her appetite, he’d stop everything to sit beside her and say, “I’m here. You have to eat, al- right?”
That same voice echoed now, but for someone else. Tears slid down her face, falling onto the floor, pooling silently.
Eloise let out a dry laugh and crawled back into bed.
Fifteen days and then she’d be gone. It’s fine. Once she leaves, it won’t hurt anymore.
She was woken by noise. She stepped out of the room and locked eyes with the woman across the hall. Aurelie
0.0 %
16:43
Chapter 6
looked back at her, guilt flashing in her soft gaze. She looked fragile, pitiful.
Leon immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body. His voice carried a hint of irritation.
288 Vouchers
“Why are you looking at Ellie like that? She’s not well. I brought her here to recover. Didn’t you pass that nutritionist exam or whatever? Great-you can take care of her.”
For a second, Eloise’s heart stopped. Then she looked up and smiled.
“Sure.”
She was leaving anyway. Consider it repayment for all those years Leon had treated her well. After that, she’d disap-
pear.
The second her eyes landed on the table, her pupils shrank. Her mother’s keepsake was gone!
She had brought it back from Claire’s manor that day and left it right there on the table. How could it be gone?
“Maybe Leon moved it. That has to be it,” she told herself, trying to stay calm.
She flung open every cabinet and tore through every drawer.
Nothing!
Nothing!
Still nothing!
Panic surged through her chest, her hands beginning to shake uncontrollably.
Leon came out of the bedroom, eyes drowsy, face dark with irritation. “What are you doing? It’s the middle of the night-Ellie can’t handle noise, you know that.”
She didn’t even register the sting of his words. She looked at him, desperate, like a wild thing that lost its mother-her face fragile, frantic.
“Where’s my mom’s photo?” she asked, her voice trembling, barely above a whisper.
Leon frowned, eyes darting away.
She saw it-saw the flicker-and her body moved before she could think. She grabbed his arms tightly, nails digging
“Where is my mom’s photo?!” she screamed, raw and breaking.
Leon scowled, pulling away, his voice sharp and full of disdain.
“I threw it out, alright?!”
