THE WIFE,THE MOTHER,THE PRISONER

The celebration was a masterpiece of deception.

Glittering chandeliers bathed the marble floors in gold, casting elegant shadows over guests dressed in diamonds and silk. Waiters glided like ghosts through the room, offering drinks no one finished and smiles no one meant. Laughter filled the air—but it sounded forced, too loud. Like a performance.

Lelo watched it all from the grand staircase, tucked into the shadows, the hem of her black dress pooling around her like smoke. She clutched the banister tightly, knuckles white, as if letting go would make her slip into something irreversible.

She hated this night.

She hated how everyone celebrated something they didn't understand. Something wrong.

Her Mama—her Serene—was pregnant.

And the world clapped for it.

Her stomach turned.

She remembered the moment the maid whispered the news, giddy with excitement, voice too loud in that quiet hallway. She remembered Serene's face—confused at first, pale, then stiff as if something had cracked beneath the surface.

The moment had shattered Lelo.

Her Mama. Now someone else's. Now carrying something that didn't belong.

No.

It wasn't right.

The baby was already taking too much. The way people looked at Serene now—like she was sacred. Like she was his. The way Roman walked behind her with a hand protectively resting on her lower back. The way even the maids bowed their heads when she passed. They worshipped her—but not because of who she was.

Because of what was inside her.

Lelo's throat tightened. Her fingers curled tighter around the railing.

What if Mama loved it?

What if she loved the baby more?

A cold breath shivered through her ribs. She tried to push the thought away, but it kept scratching back. Would the baby look like him? Would it cry like her? Would it steal the soft lullabies that used to belong only to Lelo?

What if it made Serene forget the fire? The fight? Her?

She hated the baby.

And she hated herself for hating it.

But she couldn't stop. Because every time Serene smiled now, it looked like it wasn't just for her. Every time Serene held her stomach, it was like she was holding someone else.

Lelo blinked away the sting behind her eyes.

And then she saw her.

Serene.

Floating through the crowd in that glowing ivory dress, soft as a dream. Her hand rested gently on her stomach, like it was something precious.

And Lelo wanted to scream.

But she didn't. She just watched.

Then—another figure. Crimson like a blade.

Gloria.

Roman's ex-wife moved like smoke and venom. Heads turned as she passed, but Gloria didn't care. She had a purpose. She moved straight to Serene, touched her arm lightly, and said something.

Serene hesitated.

Then nodded.

The two of them slipped behind one of the thick velvet pillars near the arched window, just far enough out of sight.

Whispers. Tense shoulders. Sharp glances.

Lelo's eyes narrowed.

Two mothers. One corner. One secret.

Roman saw it too.

Across the room, he paused. His gaze followed the red and the white into the shadows. His jaw ticked once. Then he chuckled quietly to himself, as if amused.

"Still bickering like schoolgirls," he muttered, then raised a toast to a passing guest.

Lelo didn't smile.

She knew it wasn't bickering.

There was something wrong.

And she didn't have time to figure it out—not now. Because the baby was already taking too much. Stealing her place. Turning the woman she loved into something softer, quieter... someone who didn't see her anymore.

Her fingers itched with something dangerous. Her chest pulsed with something that felt too big for her body.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to run to Serene and drag her away, away from Gloria, away from the baby, away from all of them. But Serene didn't look like she needed saving. She looked... tired. Glowing. Changed.

Lelo swallowed hard.

She was losing her.

And no one saw it.

Except her.

The celebration roared on. Strings played. Laughter echoed. Champagne spilled.

But up on the staircase, in the shadows, a child with too much pain and too little room in her heart stared down at the woman who used to be hers.

And wondered if the baby had already won.

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