Chapter 6 : Evidence
The silence stretched unbearably. Bella felt small under Eleanor's piercing gaze, her confident crumbling like sand.
“How did you know about my condition?” Her voice came out barely above a whisper.
Eleanor's lips curved into a predatory smile. “Darling, I've my own way, I know everything. Your little breakdown, your secretive therapy sessions, your cozy dinner with Mr handsome doctor.”
“That's private.”
“Nothing is private when it comes to me knowing
“ Eleanor's diamonds caught the light as she moved coser. “Especially when my son's wife starts acting like a common whore.”
The word hit Bella hard like a physical slap. She stepped back, bumping into the marble counter.
“I never..”
“Didn't you?” Eleanor's voice was silk wrapped around steel. “The perhaps you can explain these.”
Eleanor's manicured fingers pulled a manila envelope from her designer purse. The expensive leather and gold hardware screamed wealth, the kind of wealth that could destroy lives without consequence.
“What is that?”
“Evidence, Bella. The kind that reveals exactly what you've been up to.”
Bella's hands shook as she stared at the envelope. “I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Don't you?” Eleanor's laugh was like breathing crystal. “Perhaps these will refresh your memory.”
She dumped the contents across the pristine white marble. Glossy photographs scattered like accusations.
Bella's breath caught in her throat.
The first photo showed her at Chez Laurent with Dr Martinez. But the angle …. The lightning… it looked intimate. Romantic.
“That's not what it look like.”
“Isn't it?” Eleanor sped more photos with theatrical precision. “Because to me, it looks like a married woman having a very cozy dinner with her lover.”
“He's my doctor!”
“Is that what we're calling it?” Nathaniel's voice cut through the air like a blade.
He moved closer, his presence looming over her.
In his expensive suit and perfectly styled hair, he looked every inch the powerful businessman. And she felt like nothing more than a cornered animal.
“Look at these, Bella .” His voice was dangerously quiet.
Another photo. Her hand reaching across the table toward Dr. Martinez. The photographer had caught the exact moment their finger almost touched.
Another. Her laughing at something he'd said, her face bright with genuine happiness.
Another. Him helping her with her coat outside the restaurant, his hands in her shoulders.
“These are taken out of context.”
“Are they?” Nathaniel picked up the photo of their hands . His jaw ticked with barely controlled fury. “Because you look very…. comfortable with him.”
“It was therapy!” Bella's voice cracked with desperation. “He was helping me through my depression session!”
“Depression doesn't require hand holding,” Eleanor said coolly. “Or private dinners. Or looking at a man like he hung the moon.”
Bella stared at the photos, her mind reeling. During those dark months, Dr. Martinez had been her lifeline. The restaurant meeting had been his idea , exposure therapy to help her rejoin society.
But these photos…. They told a different story entirely.
“I was sick,” she whispered. “He was trying to help me get better.”
“By taking you on romantic dinner dates?” Nathaniel's voice dripped venom. “How very therapeutic.”
“It wasn't romantic!”
“Then explain this.” he held up another photo.
In it, Dr. Richardson was leaning close, saying something that made her smile. But the angle, was intimate lightning of the restaurant, made it look like lovers sharing moment and secret together.
“Look at your face, Isabella.” Eleanor's voice was soft, deadly. “Look at how you're gazing at him.”
Bella looked. In every photo, she did look… radiant. Happy. More alive than she'd been in years even with Nathaniel. But it wasn't love, it was gratitude. Relief at finally feeling human again.
“That's not love.”
“No?” Eleanor tilted her head. “Then what do you call this expression?”
She pointed to a photo where Bella was looking up at Dr. Richardson with obvious warmth and trust.
“I was grateful.”
“Grateful enough to sleep with him?” Nathaniel's voice turned ugly. “Grateful enough to get pregnant with his bastard?”
“There was no affair!” The words tore from her throat. “I never slept with him!”
“The evidence suggests otherwise.” Eleanor's voice was calm, matter of fact. “A depressed, lonely wife. A handsome, successful doctor. Late night session. Private dinners. And now… a pregnancy.”
“The pregnancy is your, Nathaniel.”
“No.” His voice was final. Absolute. “It couldn't be. The medical results stated that I'm sterile.”
“But your medical records.”
“Are irrelevant.” Eleanor cut her off smoothly. “What's relevant is that you're carrying another man's child and trying to trick my son into raising it.”
“I'm not tricking anyone!”
“Aren't you?” Nathaniel stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “Because from where I stand, you got knocked up by your therapist and now you're desperate to pin it on me.”
His words hit Bella hard. Bella clutched the counter for support.
“Why won't you believe me?”
“Because the evidence is right here.” He gestured to the photos. “Black and white proof of your affair.”
“It's not proof of anything except someone manipulation!”
Eleanor laughed, the sound sharp and cruel.”manipulation? Darling.”
“Are you calling saying my mother manipulated this?” Nathan frown his face, “these photos speak for themselves.”
“No!, Nathel.” Bella held the base of her neck, her voice was small, “someone must have had me followed to do this.”
Eleanor's eyes were ice cold. “Followed, why, for what purpose?”
“To make me look guilty.”
“Or from being known as the man whose wife cuckolded him with her doctor.” Eleanor's voice was conversational, as if discussing the weather. “From the scandal of raising another man's bastard. From the humiliation of being played for a fool.”
Each word was calculated to wound. Bella felt herself shrinking under the assault.
“I never played Nathan for anything.”
Nathaniel's voice was bitter. “Then what would you call this charade?”
“Nathaniel, I'll never played.” the word exploded from her. “You know how much i love.”
“Love!” He smirks, “your love doesn't include fucking other men.”
The cruel word from his usually refined mouth shocked her into silence.
“I can see why you'd want him,” Eleanor said thoughtfully. “Distinguished. Successful. Fertile.” The last word was delivered like a killing blow. “Everything you couldn't have with Nathel.”
“That's not.”
“Everything you thought deserved.” Eleanor continued relentlessly. “A real man who could give you the child Nathel couldn't.”
“Stop it!”
“And now you want to have your cake and eat it too. Keep Nathel money and status while raising your lover child.”
Eleanor words burned Nathaniel's heart like a rock inside a magma, but he keep to himself staring strongly at Bella.
“Please stop!” Bella beg Eleanor.
“Did you think we were stupid?” Eleanor's voice turned vicious. “Did you think we wouldn't figure it out?”
Bella's phone rang.
The sound cut through the tension like a knife. All three of them stared at the device vibrating on the counter.
Dr. Martinez's name flashed in the screen.
Eleanor's smile was triumphant. “How convenient.”
With trembling fingers, Bella answered.
“Dr. Martinez?”
“Bella, thank God you answered.” His voice was frantic, panicked. “Someone's came requesting for your sessions results. Did you send someone for that?”
The blood drained from her face.
“What! I didn't.”
“Your name was the reference given and I wanted to confirm it from you.”
The phone slipped from her numb fingers, clattering to the marble floor.
Eleanor's laughter filled the silence.
“Well, “ she said softly, “that was illuminating.”
Nathaniel's face had gone white with rage. When he looked at her now. There was nothing but disgust in her eyes.
“Pack your bags,” he said quietly. “I want you out of my house. Tonight.”
Bella felt the walls closing in. The luxury around her, the marble counters, the crystal chandeliers, the imported tile suddenly all felt like a prison.
“Nathaniel, please.”
“Please what?” His voice was ice. “Please pretend I didn't just hear your lover confirm your affair?”
“He didn't confirm anything.”
“He confirmed enough.” Eleanor's voice was satisfied. “More than enough.”
Bella looked between them. The powerful mother amd son, united against her. She was outnumbered, outmaneuvers, and completely alone.
“Where am I supposed to go?”
“To your lover,
” Nathaniel said coldy. “I'm sure Dr. Martinez will be happy to take in his pregnant whore.”
Bella heart shattered from Nathaniel’s word.
She was trapped. Helpless. And completely at their mercy.
