Chapter 3

3.

I pushed down the grief and followed them to the dance studio.

As a prima ballerina, Autumn's arrival stopped the music.

Every dancer rushed over to greet her.

"Is that your boyfriend, Autumn? He's gorgeous!"

"He has to be! Look at how he's carrying her."

Autumn tried to look modest, but her eyes were gleaming with pride.

She pretended to be annoyed and told them to get back to work.

The dancers just giggled and ran off, thinking she was blushing.

Silas stood there silently, watching the stage.

He didn't bother to deny the rumors.

I followed his gaze and remembered something from my school days.

Back then, Silas seemed obsessed with Autumn at the conservatory.

He even asked me why I didn't learn to dance.

That was the first time I felt a true sense of crisis in my crush.

Because of his casual remark, I started ballet.

But I was too old to start.

The teachers told me it would be grueling, but I wouldn't quit.

I practiced until my feet were swollen and bleeding.

My older brother-figure, Caleb Sinclair, used to scold me for ruining my body.

Caleb was my mom's best friend's son.

He treated me like a sister and constantly told me Silas wasn't worth the effort.

But I was stubborn. I wouldn't listen.

"Let's go eat. I'm moving abroad next week, and I won't be around to nag you," Caleb had said.

He couldn't win the argument, but he respected my choice.

As I was heading to change, Silas and Autumn walked into the studio.

Autumn was wearing the same color leotard as me.

Standing next to Silas, they looked like a perfect match.

"You look hideous."

I'll never forget the look of disgust in his eyes or that soul-crushing comment.

In that moment, I felt like a cheap imitation.

The leotard felt like vomit clinging to my skin.

I never touched ballet shoes again.

After we married, Silas actually asked why I stopped dancing.

He even wanted me to wear that old leotard for him.

He had completely forgotten his own cruelty.

Instead, he criticized me for being flighty and unable to commit to anything.

Every memory was a fresh reminder that he never loved me.

"Has Estelle still not called you?"

Autumn's voice snapped me back to the present.

Silas was staring at his phone, his face tight.

"It's just work," Silas said, shoving the phone into his pocket.

"As for Estelle, who cares? If she doesn't want to come back, she can stay gone forever."

Silas always saved his best side for Autumn and his worst for me.

Didn't he know that even the most devoted heart can break?

Well, your wish is granted, Silas. I'm never coming back.

Three days passed. Silas was buried in work and barely went home.

I thought he would jump at the chance to sleep with Autumn in our bed.

But he had relegated her to the guest room.

He even ordered the maids to change our sheets, restoring the room to how it was before I died.

I couldn't understand him. I never could.

Autumn had even cried about being moved to the guest wing.

"Still no word from Estelle?" his mother asked, her voice dripping with venom.

Silas hummed a response, staring at his blank screen.

"This is unacceptable! She's skipping the anniversary of your grandmother's death!"

His mother slammed her hand on the table.

"Ungrateful brat. We took her in when her parents died. We let her marry into this family. Poor Silas, forced away from the woman he loved."

"Don't be angry, ma'am. It's my fault," Autumn said, wiping her eyes.

"If I hadn't come back, she wouldn't have staged that kidnapping. She wouldn't be hiding out just to spite us."

Silas looked at Autumn's tearful face and sighed.

"I've frozen her credit cards. She's too pampered to survive on her own. She'll crawl back, and when she does, I'll make her apologize to you."

Silas headed up to his study and dialed a number.

"The user you are calling is unavailable…"

The cold, mechanical voice made Silas hurl his phone onto the sofa.

His eyes were filled with a rage that could have burned the house down.

"Estelle Sterling."

I flinched, then remembered he couldn't see me.

"If you don't show up soon, don't expect me to ever look for you again."

He believed everyone but me.

He never even considered that something might have actually happened.

He thought I was ungrateful, just like his mother did.

But how could I come back?

Grandmother was the only one who truly loved me in that house.

She did everything to make me smile after my parents died.

Now, I couldn't even pay my respects at her grave.

I felt like a failure.

I just wanted to leave this world for good.

Maybe I could apologize to her in heaven.