Chapter 3

In the moment the floor disappeared beneath me, I saw Sebastian's eyes go wide with terror.

Thud —

I tumbled down the stairs and hit the bottom hard.

My neck slammed into the sharp metal edge of the art sculpture standing in the first-floor living room.

A searing, tearing pain exploded from my throat and spread through my entire body. The agony nearly knocked me unconscious on the spot.

I lay face-down on the floor, gasping desperately for air, but it felt like my lungs had sprung a leak.

Warm liquid poured from my neck in a torrent, soaking into the wool carpet beneath me, turning it a deep, vivid red.

"Ellie!"

Sebastian came flying down the stairs like a madman, dropping to his knees beside me, frantically trying to press his hands over my wound.

His hands were shaking. His whole body was shaking.

His inner voice was nothing but desperate, anguished cries.

[My wife! You're bleeding so much!]

[How did this happen? I didn't mean to — I didn't mean to push you!]

[Please don't scare me like this. I'm begging you, don't scare me!]

I opened my mouth, trying to say it hurts — trying to say help me.

But no sound would come from my throat. Only broken, ragged breaths, and the nauseating stench of blood.

"Seb… it hurts so much…"

At the top of the stairs, Evelyn cradled her scraped hand, her eyes glistening with tears.

Sebastian froze.

He looked at me. Then he looked at Evelyn.

His inner voice tore itself apart.

[My wife is badly hurt — I need to get her to the hospital!]

[But Evie's hand… she's a pianist. My teacher entrusted her to me on his deathbed. If her hand is ruined, how could I ever face him?]

[My wife's injury is just surface-level. Evie's hand can't wait.]

Sebastian clenched his jaw and shot to his feet.

He stood over me — over my body lying in a pool of blood — and looked down with eyes cold enough to cut glass.

"Elodie, you brought this on yourself."

"If anything happens to Evie's hand, I'll make you pay for it."

He turned away. Without a moment's hesitation, he scooped Evelyn into his arms and strode out of the house.

The front door slammed shut behind him, sealing me off from the rest of the world.

I stared after him, eyes wide with despair, watching him disappear.

The blood kept flowing from my throat.

I tried to drag myself toward my phone, lying just a few feet away.

But the pain had drained every last drop of strength from my body.

All I could do was lie there as my vision slowly, steadily blurred.

So that was how little I meant to him. I wasn't even worth as much as a scratch on Evelyn's hand.

Sebastian. You win.

I'm done.

In the final second before the darkness swallowed me whole, one thing flashed through my mind — something he had said to me once.

"Elodie, I'm the one who gave you this life. You owe me a debt you'll spend every lifetime repaying. You'll never leave my side."

When I opened my eyes again, everything was blindingly white.

The sharp smell of antiseptic filled my nose.

I shifted slightly, and a stabbing pain tore through my throat.

"You're awake?"

Sebastian's hoarse voice came from beside the bed.

I turned my head. His eyes were raw and red from sleepless nights, dark stubble shadowing his jaw. He looked completely wrecked.

The moment he saw my eyes open, he lurched to his feet, reaching toward me — then stopping himself, like he was afraid to touch me.

"You… how do you feel? Does it still hurt?"

There was a tremor in his voice that he probably didn't even notice himself.

His inner voice came rushing in like a tide.

[She's finally awake. God, I was terrified — I thought I was going to lose her.]

[The doctor said her vocal cords are damaged… This is all my fault. I deserve to rot for this.]

[Yell at me. Hit me. Just please, please don't look at me like that — like you're already dead inside.]

I looked at him in silence. There was nothing stirring in my chest.

No anger. No hurt. Just a stillness, flat and cold as standing water.

I opened my mouth and tried to speak.

No matter how hard I pushed, the only thing that came out of my throat was a faint, hollow hiss of air.

I went still.

The color drained from Sebastian's face in an instant.

He grabbed my shoulders, his voice urgent. "Don't try to talk. The doctor said your vocal cords are injured — you need to rest."

I watched his eyes slide away from mine, and a quiet dread settled in my chest.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand.

Sebastian moved to stop me, but I pulled away from his hand and grabbed it myself. I opened the notes app and typed.

My throat. What's wrong with it?

I held the screen up in front of him.

Sebastian stared at it. His throat worked as he swallowed hard.

"It's just… temporary. You'll get your voice back in time. I've already found the best doctors — they'll fix this. I promise."

He was lying.

I could hear it in his thoughts.

[I'm so sorry. The doctor said the damage to your vocal cords is severe. It might be… permanent.]

[But I'm not giving up. I don't care what it costs — I'll find a way to fix this.]

[Please don't find out the truth. I don't know if you could take it.]

Permanent.

I was mute now.

Because of the push that sent me falling. Because he had chosen to take Evelyn to get her little scrape bandaged first.

I closed my eyes. A single tear slipped down the side of my face.

Sebastian panicked, frantically wiping my tears with his hands.

"Don't cry, Ellie, please don't cry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you. I just—"

He tried to explain, but no explanation could hold up against what he'd done.

I picked up my phone again, typed one word, and held it out to him.

Divorce.