Then everything happened too fast. I pushed forward again and accidentally bumped into Kelsey. The giant vase wobbled. Then it tipped. And fell straight onto her.
A loud crash. Shattering porcelain. Kelsey screamed.
Silence followed instantly. She collapsed under the broken pieces. Blood spread beneath her. My breathing stopped.
Then Dimitri's voice tore through the villa.
"What the hell is going on?!"
He rushed in and saw Kelsey on the floor. His expression changed instantly. He ran to her, lifting her into his arms like she was the only thing that mattered.
"Kelsey," his voice softened immediately. "Look at me. Stay awake. I told you to be careful after everything."
Then his eyes snapped to me. Cold again.
"You fucking pushed her? She just had surgery. Are you trying to kill her?"
I was still holding Mimi's limp body. My whole body was shaking. "My cat..." I whispered, voice breaking. "She killed Mimi first. She didn't do anything wrong. She was just sitting there! She's just a cat, Dimitri..."
For a second, his eyes flicked to Mimi. Something passed through his face then it disappeared.
"It's better this way," he said flatly.
My breath stopped. "What?"
He adjusted Kelsey in his arms without looking at me. "Anything that proves we ever had something good, shouldn't exist anymore."
My vision blurred completely.
So that was it. Even Mimi. Even the last soft thing I had. Everything had to be erased.
Kelsey weakly spoke in his arms. "Dimitri, my head hurts... I'm dying."
He immediately softened again. He kissed her forehead gently. "It's okay, I'll take you to the hospital. Just stay with me."
Then he turned to the guards. "Lock her in the basement."
He didn't look at me again. Not even once.
They dragged me away while I still held Mimi. The basement door slammed shut. Darkness swallowed everything.
The basement door opened after I didn't know how long. My body was already half gone by then.
Kelsey walked in like she owned the place, holding a small pot in her hands. "Are you hungry?" she asked casually. "Did you miss that little cat of yours?"
My stomach dropped. Something inside me already knew. No. No, please!
She slowly lifted the lid. Steam rose up. Inside was a thick, grayish soup. My breath stopped completely.
Before I could even move, she stepped closer and grabbed my chin tightly. "Come on, bitch! Let’s fix your loneliness."
And then she shoved it into my mouth.
I choked instantly. "No... no... stop—!" I tried to push her away, but my body didn’t listen. I was too weak, too broken to fight properly.
She held me tighter. "Swallow it! Don’t be rude. It’s your precious Mimi."
My vision blurred instantly. Mimi. My Persian cat. My baby. My last warmth in this house.
I tried to spit it out, but more of it went down my throat anyway. I gagged hard, tears spilling uncontrollably as my whole body shook.
"Kelsey—!" I choked. "Why would you... why would you do this..."
She finally pulled away and looked at me with a bright smile, like she had just done something normal. "Because you needed closure. And Dimitri would’ve done it anyway. You should thank me."
I collapsed on the floor immediately, coughing violently, but nothing came out. Nothing. Only burning pain and emptiness.
When the pot was finally empty, she clapped her hands once like she was satisfied. "There," she said softly. "Now you’ve really let go of your precious mimi. Too bad she becomes soup. Yummy, right?"
Then she left laughing.
"M-mimi..." my voice cracked as I curled up on the ground. "Mimi... I’m sorry..."
But there was no answer. Only silence.
I don’t know how long I stayed there. Maybe hours. Maybe longer.
My body started burning after that. Fever rising fast. My wounds from before got worse, infected, aching with every breath I took. I couldn’t even sit up properly anymore. Everything blurred in and out.
At some point, I felt arms lifting me. Warm, careful and familiar in a way that hurt. Someone wiped my face gently with a damp towel. Cleaned the dirt off my skin like I still mattered.
Then something cold touched my forehead wound. Medicine. Soft hands bandaging me slowly.
A voice came. "Anni..."
My heart stopped. That voice, I had heard it before. So many years ago. When I was sick. When I was crying. When I still believed he loved me.
Dimitri.
I forced my eyes open slightly. Everything was blurry, but I could see him. He was sitting beside me, his eyes red, his face tense like he was holding something back. He carefully fed me medicine, his hand steady even though his expression wasn’t.
For a moment, I almost thought I imagined it. Why was he here? Why now? Did I even deserve this?
My eyes trembled as I stared at him, afraid to blink. Afraid he would disappear again.
He looked at me for a second like he wanted to say something. But then his phone rang. The sound cut through everything.
He let go of my hand immediately and stood up, walking a few steps away to answer it. "Kelsey."
"Dimitri! I just came from the hospital. They said I missed my period for over a month. I think... I might be pregnant."
My breath caught.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Kelsey continued quickly, "I already thought of names. If it’s a boy, Skyler. If it’s a girl, Danica. Do you like them? I want you to choose too."
Silence.
Then Dimitri’s fingers tightened around the phone. Skyler. Danica.
Those names hit something deep inside him. I saw it even from where I lay. His expression changed slightly. Like he had been stabbed without warning.
I remembered those names too. Years ago. When I was still Annika. When I still smiled without fear.
"Dimitri," I had told him once while sitting in his lap, "if we ever have kids, I want a boy named Skyler and a girl named Danica. So even when we’re old, we’ll still remember how we started."
I remembered how he laughed back then. How he kissed my forehead. How he said, "Then I’ll give you both of them, Anni. A whole future just for us."
Now that memory felt like someone else’s life.
Kelsey’s voice came again through the phone. "Dimitri? Are you there?"
He exhaled slowly. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Those names are fine."
My chest cracked open. Fine. Just fine. That was all it took now.
Then he added, "I’m coming to the hospital now."
He hung up.
For a moment, he didn’t move. Then he turned back toward me. Our eyes met.
He looked conflicted for half a second but then it disappeared again.
He walked closer slowly, staring at me like I was something already fading. I wanted to ask him something. Anything. Do you still remember me? Was any of it real?
But my voice wouldn’t come out.
He stayed there for a second longer, then finally turned away.
The door closed behind him.
And the world went silent again.
I stared at the ceiling for a long time. Then I slowly closed my eyes.
So that’s it. He had someone else now. Someone who could give him a future. Someone who wasn’t me.
A bitter thought slipped through my mind.
Was I finally free to disappear now?
Because for the first time… it didn’t feel like I had anything left worth holding on to.
….
Dimitri never came back after that.
One day, I left the mansion for the first time alone.
I ended up at my favorite coffee shop near the river. The same little café Dimitri used to bring me to during winter nights when we were younger. Back then, he would pull my frozen hands into his lap beneath the table and warm them while laughing softly.
Now I sat there alone.
A cup of untouched coffee rested between my hands. My body still felt weak from the fever. Then suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from the table behind me.
Vivienne.
I froze instantly.
She sat with two wealthy-looking women near the back corner of the café, laughing casually while stirring her coffee.
"Vivienne, it's already been seven years. Annika's family took all the blame for the accident. Don't you feel even a little guilty?"
