With just one sentence, Beatrix ruined my life.
That lie shattered everything. My parents’ trust, their love, their pride in me… all of it was gone in an instant. From that moment, I wasn’t their daughter anymore. I was the reason Beatrix had suffered, the shame of the Charles family. My mother’s eyes carried disgust, my father’s silence burned deeper than words. Their love for me disappeared overnight, replaced by cold stares that never softened, even years later.
At her birthday banquet, walking into the grand hall felt like walking straight into a trap. Beatrix spotted Walter and me the second we arrived. She floated toward us in her golden gown that glittered under the chandeliers, her smile wide and bright like she was born for the spotlight.
“Rosine, Walter, finally!” she exclaimed, taking my hand as if she adored me. Then she gasped, covering her lips delicately. “Oh no, I almost forgot. You can’t hear me, can you? I should’ve learned sign language, but I never did. You won’t hold that against me, right?”
Her voice dripped with sweetness, but her eyes gleamed with something sharp.
My mother stepped closer, her tone cutting like glass. “Blame her? Beatrix, don’t be silly. If it weren’t for Rosine, you would have never been kidnapped in the first place. She’s the disgrace of our family. Deaf and useless.”
I bowed my head. I had heard it all before. Their cruelty never dulled, but it still stabbed the same.
Before I could speak, Walter stepped forward. He put a warm hand on Beatrix’s shoulder, “Rosine isn’t the type to hold grudges. Don’t worry about it, Beatrix. She understands.”
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, handing it to her like it was the rarest jewel in the world. “Happy birthday, Beatrix. I hope you like it.”
Her face lit up instantly. “Walter, you always know how to make me smile.”
As she tilted her wrist to adjust the box, the light caught on the bracelet she wore. My breath caught in my throat.
The bracelet.
The heirloom of Rutherford Crown Holdings. The one Walter once told me was lost. The one I had secretly hoped he’d give me when we first married. I had asked him back then, shyly, why he never gave it to me. His smile had faltered for a heartbeat before he kissed my hand and said, “It’s just an old thing. What matters is that my heart belongs to you.”
But now the truth was shining under the ballroom lights. The bracelet wasn’t lost. It was never mine to begin with. It was always hers.
A sharp pain spread across my chest, burning and hollow all at once. My hands trembled, but I swallowed it down. I couldn’t let anyone see me break.
“I… I need some air,” I whispered, slipping away before my tears betrayed me. The laughter and music faded as I pushed through the crowd, searching for the cold night to numb the storm inside me.
***
The garden lights were soft and golden, casting long shadows across the lake. The night air was cool against my skin, yet inside I felt hot and trapped.
I should have known she would come. Beatrix never missed a chance to cut me open.
When she walked out, her face had none of the sweetness she showed in front of others. The polite smile was gone. What stared back at me now was her real self. Sharp, cruel, smug.
"I really do not get you," she said, her voice low and sharp. "How do you still have the guts to show up here? No one wants you, but you act like you belong. Your shamelessness is almost funny."
Her words sliced through me, but I kept my eyes on the lake. If I looked at her, I knew the tears would fall, and I did not want to give her that victory.
She stepped closer, her perfume thick in the air, sweet and suffocating. "Do you even know why Walter married you? Poor thing. He never loved you. He only did it so you would not get in the way of me and Cali. He told me everything the night of your wedding. He told me I was the one he really wanted. He's obsessed with me… He married you to be near me. Not you."
The world tilted for a moment, but I forced myself to breathe.
Beatrix laughed softly, the sound like broken glass. "Look at you. Pathetic. A deaf wife who cannot even keep her husband’s heart. If I were you, I would not even bother living anymore."
Her words pierced so deep I could barely breathe. My silence must have pleased her, because she suddenly moved fast. Before I could step back, she threw herself into the lake. The water exploded around her, the splash echoing in the night.
"Help me! Someone, please!" she cried, thrashing wildly as though she were drowning. “Rosine! She pushed me! Help—”
