Chapter 192

Eleanor's POV

My feet had carried me through rain-soaked streets all day, until I found myself standing before the Harrington mansion. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Even when my mind was lost, my body somehow knew where to go - where I used to call home.

The familiar building loomed before me, its windows glowing warmly against the darkening sky. Yet I couldn't bring myself to take another step forward. Exhaustion finally overwhelmed me, and I sank down onto the wet pavement and watched raindrops dance in the streetlight.

"Mr. Harrington is asking for you. Come with me."

The old butler's voice startled me from above, his umbrella suddenly shielding me from the endless drizzle. Shock rippled through me, but I didn't dare hope. I just carefully followed behind him, my feet remembering every step of this path I'd walked countless times before.

By the time we reached the study, I was shaking uncontrollably. Whether from my soaked clothes or my mounting terror, I couldn't tell.

"Bring Miss Yates a wool blanket," Howard Harrington commanded.

Those words - "Miss Yates" - stabbed through my heart like a knife. Such a formal address, as if we'd never shared any familial bond at all.

"Miss Yates, please wrap yourself up. You're just recovering from illness; we wouldn't want you catching cold." the butler's tone was gentle as he handed me the blanket, but his kindness only made the pain sharper. I clutched the blanket tightly around myself, desperate for warmth, but finding only emptiness.

Howard's voice cut through the silence. "You must understand your situation by now. You are not a Harrington, and therefore, you no longer have any right to come to this house."

His words pierced me like icicles. I thought after a week, I'd grown numb to this truth, but tears still threatened to spill from my eyes.

"If you weren't Grant Yates's illegitimate daughter, perhaps the Harrington family wouldn't have to be so cold to you."

"But is it my fault?" My voice cracked with desperation. "Did I choose who gave birth to me? Why must I bear the consequences of something I had no control over?"

"You're not at fault," Howard replied, his voice unwavering. "But this situation has fallen upon you, so you must be the one to bear it."

At these words, I could no longer hold back my tears. So this was how cruelly unfair the world could be - I had never harmed anyone, yet I had to pay for sins that weren't mine to bear.

"What reason could we possibly have to continue accepting you? Taking you in would be an insult to the Harrington name, letting Grant Yates triumph over us. The Harrington family cannot afford such disgrace."

He paused, then delivered the final blow. "Leave now. Don't appear before us again. The further away you go, the better."

I could only nod and whisper, "Alright." What else could I do? I wasn't a Harrington anymore - I had become their shame, their stain.

"Please take care of yourself," I said, bowing deeply before Howard Harrington. I noticed his fingers twitch slightly - perhaps some remnant of affection remained for the girl he'd doted on since childhood. But none of that mattered anymore.

I carefully placed the wool blanket on the chair, terrified of making even the smallest mistake. As I left the study and walked toward the stairs, I saw her - my "stunt double." No, that wasn't right. I was the replacement, the imposter who had stolen twenty years of her life.

Maeve. Maeve Harrington now. She was the true Harrington heiress. Our eyes met across the landing. She wore a white princess dress and fluffy white slippers, every inch the cherished hothouse flower. Meanwhile, I stood there soaking wet, my shoes muddy, afraid to even step on the luxurious carpet for fear of sullying it.

"What are you doing here?"

The furious demand came from behind me. Before I could react, I felt a violent shove. I desperately grabbed the banister to keep from tumbling down the stairs.

"Eleanor Yates, how dare you show your face at the Harrington mansion again!" Clara Harrington pulled Maeve protectively to her side, disgust evident in her eyes. "Letting you recover in the hospital was the extent of my mercy. Don't test my limits!"

She wasn't finished. "Stop playing weak in front of me. Did you think you were still my daughter? That I would coddle you if you just acted pitiful enough? Let me tell you something, Eleanor - even if you dropped dead right here, I wouldn't spare you a second glance!"

My hands gripped the banister tightly - not from fear of death, but from terror that my blood might stain this expensive carpet. I started making my way downstairs in silence. I couldn't speak. The pain of being despised by someone you once loved was too overwhelming. I feared that if I said even one more word, I would completely fall apart.

A shadow appeared beside me, but I no longer had the courage to look up and see who it was.