Three years ago, I was standing under a golden spotlight, the theater roaring with applause. I was about to be named head dancer. My dream. My future. All mine.
But I threw it away. I chose Louis. I married him, thinking love was more important than a title or a stage. Biggest mistake of my life.
Today is our anniversary. And he forgot. Not even a single text. Not even a single rose.
I sat alone on the edge of the stage, staring at the empty seats that once cheered for me. My fingers were trembling, not from the cold, but from the gnawing ache in my chest.
“He didn’t even call?” Alan’s voice echoed gently behind me.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
Alan sat beside me, his presence comforting in a way I didn’t want to admit. “Catherine… I hate to say this, but Louis isn’t worth what you gave up.”
“I chose him,” I said quietly, voice cracking. “I gave everything up for love. I believed in him.”
“Do you still believe him now?” he asked softly. “Even with all the rumors?”
I looked at him sharply. “What rumors?”
He hesitated. “That he’s not just close with Lillian… that he’s the father of her child.”
My heart stopped.
“That’s insane,” I said. “They’re step-siblings.”
“And? That hasn’t stopped anyone,” Alan said bitterly.
I stood up, legs shaky. “I need to go home.”
Alan reached out, his hand brushing mine. “I’ll always be here if you come back. You hear me? Always.”
But I was already walking away.
WHEN I got to the house, the front door was open. That was strange. Louis never left it open.
Then I saw my suitcase in the hallway.
My clothes, tossed out like trash.
“Lillian?” I called, stepping inside. My voice echoed off the marble floor.
She appeared at the top of the stairs, her arms crossed, eyes gleaming with something wicked. “Oh good, you’re here. Saves me the trouble.”
“Why are my things out?” I asked, my voice hollow.
She smirked. “Didn’t Louis tell you? I’m the lady of this house now.”
“You’re insane. I’m his wife.”
She came down slowly, almost too gracefully for someone claiming to be pregnant. “For now, maybe. But he’s already chosen me. I carry his child.”
“Liar,” I snapped. “You’re his stepsister!”
“And yet he chose me.” She walked up to me until we were nose-to-nose. “You were just a pretty distraction. I was always the real thing.”
“You don’t get to kick me out of my own house,” I whispered, fury boiling.
“I already have.” Her smile widened. “File for divorce. Or I’ll destroy you.”
She shoved me hard.
“Don’t touch me!” I pushed back without thinking.
She screamed.
Next thing I knew, she was on the floor, holding her stomach, screaming bloody murder.
“My baby! My baby!”
Louis came running in. “What happened?!”
“She pushed me!” Lillian sobbed.
“No!” I shouted. “She attacked me first! I just—”
“She’s bleeding!” Louis snapped. “Catherine, what the hell did you do?!”
“I didn’t—Louis, she’s lying! I didn’t hurt her!”
But he didn’t listen.
He didn’t even look at me.
He picked Lillian up in his arms like she was porcelain and stormed out the door.
“Louis!” I ran after him, tears blurring my sight. “Please don’t leave me!”
But he was already gone.
I collapsed at the doorstep. Everything around me shattered.
A moment later, Carl, his assistant, pulled up in the car.
“Madam, the boss said you should be taken to the hospital too. For a checkup.”
A small ember of hope lit inside me.
He still cared?
“Is Louis there?” I asked.
Carl didn’t answer.
WHEN we got to the hospital, I heard her.
Lillian. Crying in the next room.
“I lost the baby, Louis,” she wailed. “She killed my baby!”
“She’ll pay,” Louis said. “I promise.”
Pay?I stumbled back. Then alarms went off.
“Patient’s crashing! She needs a transfusion now!”
“We don’t have her blood type!”
Louis burst into the room I was in. “Catherine! You’re a match. You have to donate.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
His face darkened. “She’s dying because of you!”
“She dragged me down with her. She’s lying and you know it.”
“None of that matters. What matters is saving her.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “If it were me dying, would you ask Lillian to save me?”
He froze.
“That’s not a situation I can imagine,” he said quietly.
That was my answer. I gave my blood. And with it, the last piece of my soul. As the nurse rolled me out, Lillian caught my hand.
“You really are pathetic,” she whispered, smirking behind the oxygen mask. “That baby? Fake. You were just a pawn.”
I stared at her, heart thundering. “You never—”
“Nope,” she grinned. “But thanks for the blood.”
Tears welled up. Not from pain. From the betrayal. I was nothing but a game to them.
OUTSIDE the hospital, Alan was waiting. He rushed to me. “Catherine! What happened? Why are you bleeding?!”
“I’m okay. Just an accident.”
“No, you’re not.” He cupped my face. “Come home.”
I looked at him through the fog of heartbreak.
“I will. I’m done.”
BACK at my old place, I felt a strange comfort. For the first time in three years, I could breathe.
Justin, Alan’s best friend, joined us. “You don’t have to be strong all the time. We’re here.”
“I want to dance again,” I whispered. “I want to be me again.”
Alan’s smile was soft. “The troop’s going on tour. Come with us.”
“I’ll do it,” I said.
“I’ll set everything up.” He left his coat on the chair and walked out to make the call.
I picked it up—and turned.
Louis stood in the doorway.
“What are you doing here?” I asked coldly.
His eyes fell on the coat. “Whose is that? Is he why you didn’t come home?”
I stepped back. “Don’t make this about me. I didn’t cheat.”
“Oh really? Then who’s he? Are you proud of sleeping around?”
I laughed bitterly. “You have some nerves. You cheated. You humiliated me. You believed every word Lillian said. And now you’re acting like I’m a traitor?”
“Lillian lost my child because of you!”
“You mean the fake child? She told me the baby never existed.”
He blinked. Too late. His phone rang.
“What?! Lillian fainted? I’ll be right there.”
He turned to go. Again. Leaving me behind.I clenched my fists.
You want war, Louis? You got it.
As the door slammed behind him, I held the coat tighter and walked to the mirror. No more tears.bNo more begging. If Louis wanted to see the real Catherine—he would. And he’d regret ever turning his back on me.
