Paul, despite the blood trickling down his face, laughed in response to Derek's punch. He wiped his nose with a grimace, seemingly undeterred by the physical pain he had just endured. His words took on a haunting quality as he continued, "I couldn't sleep without her, and she couldn't either. Every night, Elena hugged me with her tiny hands."
The room fell silent, the weight of Paul's words sinking in. It was a disturbing revelation, a testament to the complexities and secrets that had been hidden beneath the surface of their relationships. Elena's past, her connection to Paul, and the truth about her life before Derek had become a tangled web of emotions and revelations.
Elena herself was left speechless, torn between the conflicting claims of the two men who had entered her life. The chaos that had erupted around her had shattered any semblance of normalcy, and the truth seemed more elusive than ever.
