Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Elara’s POV

A month later, the cramped waiting room smelled of dried herbs and old paper.

I sat on the narrow wooden bench, clutching my stomach, willing the nausea to pass. It didn’t. It rolled through me in thick, relentless waves, the way it had every morning for the past two weeks.

Brenna sat beside me, her knee pressed firmly against mine. A silent anchor.

“Breathe, Ella,” she murmured. “In through the nose. Out through the mouth.”

“If I open my mouth, I’m going to vomit on this man’s floor.”

“Then breathe through your nose only.”

I pressed my lips together and squeezed my eyes shut. The bench creaked beneath me. Somewhere behind the curtain that separated the waiting area from the examination room, I could hear the shuffle of paper, the clink of glass bottles.

Ella, Moonlight whispered from deep inside me. Her voice was softer than usual. Gentler. You already know what this is.

I didn’t answer her. If I didn’t say it, maybe it wouldn’t be real.

The curtain drew back. Doctor Morgan stood there — a weathered man with kind eyes set deep in a face carved by years of quiet service. He was one of the few physicians in the capital who treated common folk without demanding proof of status first. His clinic sat on a back street near the tanner’s district, far from the marble towers and perfumed halls where nobles sought their cures.

“Elara,” he said warmly. “Come in, child.”

I stood on unsteady legs. Brenna rose with me, her hand finding the small of my back.

“She’s coming too,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

Doctor Morgan smiled faintly and held the curtain wider. “Of course.”

The examination room was small and cluttered. Jars of dried roots lined the shelves. A kettle sat cold on a brazier in the corner. The examination table was covered in clean linen — worn but carefully pressed. He gestured for me to sit.

I sat. My hands trembled in my lap.

He asked the questions I expected. When did the sickness start? Had my cycle come? Had I been intimate?

I answered each one in a voice that didn’t sound like mine. Flat. Hollow.

He examined my pulse and drew a small vial of blood with a practiced hand, quick and nearly painless, then disappeared behind a partition for a long while to study it. Brenna held my hand the entire time, her thumb rubbing small circles over my knuckles.

When Doctor Morgan returned, he pulled a stool close and sat across from me. His expression wasn’t pitying. It was careful. Measured.

“Child,” he said gently. “You are with child. Roughly six weeks along.”

The room tilted.

I heard Brenna’s sharp intake of breath beside me. Felt her grip tighten on my fingers.

Six weeks. The masquerade. The alcove behind the tapestry. The golden-eyed stranger whose name I never learned.

“The condition of your blood also concerns me,” Doctor Morgan continued, his tone shifting to careful precision. “Signs of malnutrition. Deep strain and exhaustion. You haven’t been eating properly, and your body is under significant strain.” He leaned forward slightly. “Whatever circumstances you’re facing, Elara — you need rest. Proper food. This pregnancy will demand everything your body has.”

I stared at the stone floor between my feet.

Ella. Moonlight’s voice trembled with something I’d never heard from her before. Tenderness. We’re going to protect this pup. No matter what.

“Ella.” Brenna’s voice cut through the fog. I looked up. Her dark eyes were fierce and steady. “We’ll figure this out. But your family — they need to know. Before someone else finds out and it gets worse.”

She was right. I hated that she was right.

The ride back to the Valova estate took a short while, but it felt like a walk to the executioner’s block.

The manor rose from the hillside the way it always had — gray stone, ivy-choked walls, tall windows reflecting the afternoon light like blind eyes. I had lived here since I was a small child, brought in as the Baron’s ward after my parents died. It had never once felt like home.

I climbed the front steps with Brenna half a pace behind me. The heavy oak door groaned as I pushed it open.

The Baron was waiting in the front hall.

He stood with his back to the cold fireplace, arms crossed over his barrel chest. His face was already red. Already furious.

“Where,” he said, his voice low and trembling with controlled rage, “have you been?”

I opened my mouth.

“One month.” He stepped forward. The floorboards groaned beneath his weight. “You vanished for an entire month. No word. No letter. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“I—”

“Isolde and Gareth’s engagement ceremony. The preparations. The guests. And you — you selfish little beast — you just disappeared.”

The words struck like stones. I flinched but held my ground. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“Let me explain—”

“Explain?” The Baroness appeared at the top of the staircase. She descended slowly, each step deliberate, her silk skirts whispering against the stone. Her face was a mask of icy composure, but her eyes — her eyes were acid. “What possible explanation could you have for humiliating this family?”

Brenna shifted closer behind me. I felt her warmth against my back.

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