He said nothing, just pressed a tender kiss to Eleanor's forehead, a soothing gesture meant for her alone.
A sharp wave of bitterness surged through me, and my fingers, still not fully warmed, turned cold once more.
Eleanor shyly touched her face, then glanced at me with a smile, subtle yet triumphant.
"Orion, go on, say hello. This is Aunt Natalie."
I stiffened, disbelief lacing my voice.
"What… did you call me?"
She smiled, her tone light, almost effortless. "Orion. Orion, like the stars. Charles said he hopes he'll grow up to be as bright and admirable as the sky above."
A ringing filled my ears. My mind blanked.
Orion's lips moved, he was speaking, but I couldn't hear a single word.
Slowly, I turned to Charles, searching for an answer, but he only lowered his head, his guilt laid bare in the silence.
Orion Davis.
The name we had chosen together long ago when we had still dared to dream of a child of our own.
Even the meaning behind the name, Charles had given it away without hesitation as if it had never belonged to us.
Was he truly this determined to carve out my heart?
"Charles… how could you take the name we chose together and give it to a child you had with someone else?"
The moment the words left my lips, Charles's expression darkened.
"Natalie! Watch what you're saying!" he scolded in a low, sharp voice.
The suddenness of it jolted me back to reality. I watched as he hurriedly turned to Eleanor, his voice dropping into a rushed explanation. Only then did I notice how pale she had gone, her face drained of color.
A lump tightened in my throat, instinct urging me to step forward, to explain.
But then I saw it.
The wariness in Charles's eyes, cold and sharp, like a silent warning, stopped me in my tracks.
Eleanor remained frozen for a long moment before tears welled in her eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice trembled with pain.
"If our child was only born to fill the void of the one you never had with Natalie, then I would rather have never given birth to him!" Eleanor's voice broke, her shoulders trembling. "Charles, I love you. You can belittle me, ignore me, but Orion is innocent. I don't want him to exist as some consolation for your regrets with another woman."