The next morning, my father had a lavish breakfast prepared for me, filled with supplements and herbs.
I looked down at the spread, a bitter smile on my lips.
Every single item was meant to support a pregnancy.

He was sparing no expense to pave Sable's path to glory.
He was about to be sorely disappointed.
My father and Kaelen were supposed to accompany Sable to her final wedding dress fitting, but she pouted.
"Daddy, Kaelen, you're men. Your taste isn't the same as a girl's. Why don't we bring Elara along? She can give me her opinion. It'll show everyone what impeccable taste my sister has, don't you think?"
My father beamed.
"Of course, of course! Anything to make my Sable happy. Elara, you'll go with them."

He never asked me.
He never considered the courage it would take for a disfigured girl in a wheelchair, her body a canvas of fresh trauma, to step out in public.
The stares were like a thousand tiny knives.
But he didn't care.

Only Sable's happiness mattered.
At the exclusive bridal salon, the staff fawned over Sable.
"It's the Crimson Rose of New York City! An Ashford heiress, just as beautiful as they say. What a face, what a figure! You must be so proud to have a daughter and sister like her."
Then they saw me.
They recoiled, their faces twisting in disgust.
"My God, who is that... that cripple? That hideous thing? Look at her face, it's disgusting. I'm going to have nightmares. How dare she show herself next to Miss Ashford? It's like beauty and the beast, hahaha..."
"So unlucky. Imagine having the nerve to go out in public looking like that. She's tainting the floor. We'll have to disinfect everything after she leaves."
The whispers grew louder.
Sable shot me a triumphant smirk.
Of course.
This salon, normally known for its quiet, luxurious privacy, was swarming with staff today.
It was her doing.
She wanted me to suffer this humiliation.
My father and brother didn't defend me.
They were too busy basking in the glow of the compliments directed at Sable, smiling with pride whenever someone called her the Ashford heiress.
Sable tried on more than a dozen gowns.
She never once asked for my opinion.
My father, unwilling to see her struggle to choose, simply waved his hand and bought them all, including several one-of-a-kind creations by world-renowned designers.
But that wasn't enough for her.
She pouted again.
"The dresses are beautiful, but I don't have enough jewelry to match all of them..."
Kaelen immediately had dozens of jewelry sets brought in.
Nothing was worth less than seven figures.
The most expensive piece, a flawless pink diamond ring, was valued at over two hundred million dollars.
It was all for Sable's dowry.
On top of that, my father produced a stack of property deeds and stock transfer certificates, all to be added to her wedding gifts.
The purchase dates on the properties were from twenty years ago.
He had been planning this for decades.
I glanced down at the simple ring on my hand.
It was worth a few thousand dollars, a gift from my mother when she was still alive.
It was the only piece of jewelry I owned.
She had wanted to start a dowry for me, but my father had stopped her.
"Elara's still young,"
he'd said.
"Buying her such expensive things now will spoil her. A cheap little thing to play with is fine. We can talk about real jewelry when she actually gets married."
When my engagement to the Daltons was announced, they never mentioned a dowry for me.
The Daltons had been furious, calling me a calculating gold-digger.
Sable squealed with delight, planting kisses on my father's and Kaelen's cheeks.
"I knew it! Daddy and Kaelen love me the most! But... won't giving me all these wonderful gifts make Elara angry?"
Only then did they seem to remember I was there.
My father cleared his throat.
"Elara, don't overthink this. Sable is an Ashford now. If we don't provide a substantial dowry, the Daltons will laugh at us. When you get married, we'll..."
Sable cut him off.
"Daddy's right! And I can't possibly wear all these dresses. Why don't I give one to my sister? I know she'll probably never get to be a bride now, but she can hang it in her room and pretend. It'll be fun! I'll take her to try one on right now."
My father's face filled with pride.
"See? My Sable is so generous and thoughtful. Elara, you're lucky to have a sister like her. Go on, you two."
Before I could refuse, Sable grabbed the handles of my wheelchair and pushed me into a fitting room.
She dismissed the staff, and the moment the door clicked shut, her hand flew out, smacking me hard across the face.
"Elara Ashford, who do you think you are?"
she hissed, her face a contorted mask of rage.
"You're used-up trash, a broken toy they let others play with. Crippled, disfigured, and you still have the audacity to want gifts from my father and brother? You are pathetic."
"Let me make this crystal clear. Your fiancé is mine. Your father's heart is mine. Your brother's love is mine. They destroyed you for me. They let those men violate you for me. You used to be so high and mighty, didn't you? The 'Crimson Rose of New York City'? What a joke. Look at you now. You're nothing but a breeding machine to help me secure my position with the Daltons."
Her voice dripped with venom.
"We're both his daughters. Why did you get to be the precious heiress while I had to hide in the shadows, the dirty little secret? I hated it!"
"And I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. There's nothing wrong with my body. The infertility was a lie I told to manipulate them. I wanted to ruin you, to take your place, to claim everything that should have been mine. So you just focus on growing that little bastard in your belly. After it's born, I'll arrange for a little... accident. And then I'll have Dad find more men to keep you company. Hahahaha..."
"Oh, and you probably don't know this,"
she sneered, pulling out her phone.
"Dad and Kaelen installed a hidden camera in the operating room. They were afraid I'd be bored, so they live-streamed the whole night to me. Tsk, tsk. It was quite a show. I bet I could sell the footage online for a pretty penny."
She showed me the screen.
The images, the sounds... I was plunged back into that nightmare, my body shaking uncontrollably.
Why?
Why would my own father and brother do this to me?
I lunged, trying to snatch the phone, but she stepped back, laughing.
She grabbed a decorative vase from a nearby pedestal and smashed it on the floor.
Then, with a defiant smirk, she picked up a shard of porcelain.
The next second, she dragged the sharp edge across her own arm.
A line of red welled up, and she let out a piercing scream.
My father burst into the room.
"Sable! What happened? You're bleeding!"
He wrapped his arms around her, his eyes immediately flying to me, full of accusation.
Kaelen was more direct.
He stormed over and kicked my wheelchair over, sending me sprawling to the floor.
"Elara! Did you do this to her?!"
Before I could speak, Sable burst into tears.
"I... I just wanted to ask Elara to be my maid of honor... but she said I stole her fiancé and she was going to ruin my face so I could never get married! I put my arm up to block her... Daddy, I'm so scared! Just because I was born illegitimate, does that mean my own sister gets to treat me like this?"
My father's voice was ice.
"Who said you're illegitimate? You are the rightful heiress of the Ashford family. Some venomous, evil-hearted woman is the one who doesn't deserve to be my daughter!"
Kaelen glared down at me.
"Elara, you're the one who failed! You were careless, you got attacked, and you got the Dalton engagement canceled! You brought shame on this family! What does any of that have to do with Sable? She stepped up to save our family's alliance with the Daltons, and you repay her by trying to disfigure her? What right do you have?!"
I laughed, a broken, hollow sound, and then the tears came.
"I failed? Why was I attacked? Why was I defiled? Do you dare tell the truth?!"
My father scowled.
"What truth? The truth is you had a stroke of bad luck that nearly ruined this family's future! We're not even holding the bastard in your belly against you, and this is the gratitude you show? Stop making excuses and apologize to Sable right now!"
This was my father.
The man whose blood ran in my veins.
My heart died.
I reached for a piece of the broken vase and, without hesitation, dragged it across my own ravaged cheek.
The wounds, not yet healed, tore open again, blood streaming down my face.
"Elara, you—"
My father and Kaelen stared, their eyes wide with shock.
"Mr. Ashford, you're right,"
I said, my voice dripping with scorn.
"The great Miss Ashford is a selfless saint. How could I possibly harm her? My deepest apologies. I've repaid her tenfold now. Are you satisfied?"
I dropped the shard and righted my wheelchair, pushing myself out of the room.
Hearing me call him"Mr. Ashford"seemed to rattle them, a flicker of panic in their eyes.
But they didn't follow me.
They rushed to Sable's side, scooping her up and racing for the hospital.
The exhaust from their car billowed in my face, choking me, making my eyes stream.
So be it.
From this day forward, we were strangers.