THE SPITEFUL BRIDE: Marry To Rival's Son novel Chapter 136

Chapter 136

Stefan realized he was fighting a losing battle. The man standing in front of him might have Mose’s reconstructed face and enhanced personality, but his heart belonged to someone completely different now.

Elena quietly retreated, her legs feeling weak beneath her. She needed to accept the truth: the Mose who had loved her was gone forever. This new man might have his body, but he had someone else’s heart.

She had lost him. Not to death this time, but to amnesia and another woman. In some ways, this felt even worse than when she thought he had died.

At least then, she could hold onto their beautiful memories together. Now, she had to watch the man she loved falling for someone else while treating her like a burden he was forced to tolerate.

As she walked down the stairs, her vision blurred with unshed tears. Her chest felt tight, like she couldn’t get enough air. Every step felt heavier than the last. She collided with Ethan, who quickly steadied her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concern evident in his voice.

She just stared at him for a while, unable to form words. Her throat felt raw, and she could taste the salt of tears she refused to let fall. Ethan started to get scared that something was seriously wrong.

“Do you want to get a drink with me?” she asked instead, her voice barely above a whisper.

He blinked in surprise. “Elena, are you sure you’re….”

“If you don’t want to, then no problem. I can just go alone,” she said with a dejected look that broke his heart.

“No. I mean yes. Of course I want to. When do you want us to go?”

“Now.” The word came out more desperate than she intended.

He raised his brow, confused and surprised. “Like this?”

“Yes. No. Wait for me to get dressed.”

Elena rushed to her room, her hands shaking as she pulled clothes from her closet. She needed to feel something other than this crushing pain.

She needed to forget, even if just for a few hours. Her fingers found the red dress she hadn’t worn in months, The one Mose used to love seeing her in. The one he used to say was only for his eyes. This might make he remember, she thought to herself.

When she came downstairs, she was wearing the very short and tight red dress that hugged every curve. Her hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders, and she had applied just enough makeup to hide the redness around her eyes.

Ethan and Mose were talking in the living room when they saw her. Ethan was the first to notice her, and he paused, his mouth nearly dropping to the floor.

She looked stunning, but there was something broken in her eyes that made his chest ache.

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136 LOVING SOMEONE WHO COULDNT EVEN STAND TO LOOK AT HER

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Mose saw her next but turned his face away like he didn’t even see her. The dismissal was so casual, so complete, that Elena felt what little remained of her heart shatter into pieces. She had been foolish to hope for even the smallest reaction from him.

He used to love her in red dresses. He used to say she looked like a goddess, that the color made her skin glow. He used to hate when she dressed like this to go out because he said it was only for him, that he didn’t like other men looking at what was his.

Now, he just looked past her like she didn’t exist. Like she was invisible. Like she was nothing.

“Should we leave now?” Ethan asked, bringing her back from the painful thoughts that were drowning her.

“Ye… Hmm… Yes, we can,” she said, trying to sound as normal as she could. But her voice cracked slightly, and she had to clear her throat.

Ethan walked up to her, taking her hands in his. They were ice cold and trembling slightly. Though she was walking away with someone else, her heart and mind were with someone else entirely. Someone who would never want them again.

As they headed toward the door, Elena couldn’t help but glance back one more time. Mose was now focused on whatever in his phone, completely unaffected by her presence or her absence. She might as well have been a ghost.

The cool evening air hit her face as they stepped outside, and she finally allowed herself to breathe. But with each breath came the crushing reality that this was her new life.·

Loving someone who couldn’t even stand to look at her. Living in the same house as the man who had once promised her forever, watching him fall for someone else.

She squeezed Ethan’s hand tighter, grateful for his kindness but knowing that no amount of drinks or distraction would heal the wound that had just been torn wide open in her chest.

The bar was dimly lit, filled with the kind of soft jazz music that was supposed to be soothing but only seemed to amplify the ache in Elena’s chest. She sat across from Ethan in a corner booth, nursing her third glass of wine while he watched her with growing concern.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Ethan said gently, though his eyes kept drifting to the way she was gripping her glass. “But I’m here if you want to.”

Elena laughed bitterly, “What’s there to talk about? The man I love doesn’t exist anymore. He doesn’t look like Mose, doesn’t have his face, his voice… he’s a complete stranger.” She took another sip. “And the worst part? This stranger can’t stand me,”

Ethan leaned forward. “Elena…”

“No, it’s true,” Her voice cracked slightly. “You saw how he looked right through me tonight. Like I was invisible. The old Mose would have had something to say about this dress – probably would have made me change before letting me leave the house.” She gestured to the red fabric clinging to her curves. “He was possessive like that. Protective. Now? He couldn’t care less if every man in this bar was staring at me.”

“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” Ethan said carefully. “The possessiveness, I mean.”

Elena’s eyes flashed. “You don’t understand. When someone loves you that intensely, when they look at you like

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you’re their entire world… and then suddenly they look at you like you’re nothing? It’s devastating ”

She finished her wine and signaled for another. Ethan gently caught the waitress’s attention and shook his head.

“I think you’ve had enough,” he said softly.

“Have I?” Elena’s laugh was hollow. “Because I can still feel everything. I can still remember every moment we shared, every promise he made, every time he told me he loved me. If I’ve had enough, why does it still hurt so much?”

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