Chapter 3: Shadows of Betrayal and Resolve
“You’ve probably never known what it’s like to taste real love, have you?” Stella’s voice was honeyed, but her words dripped with malice. Her gaze lingered on Cecilia, sharp as a blade. “Nathaniel used to cook for me, you know. When I was sick, he’d rush to my side like I was the only person in the world. Once, he told me the sweetest thing: ‘Stella, I hope you’ll always be happy.’ Has he ever told you he loves you? He said it to me so many times, I found it almost childish.”
Cecilia’s face remained calm, her features unreadable. Inside, however, her thoughts swirled like a storm.
She had lived beside Nathaniel for three years, longing for the slightest sign of affection. Yet he never once stepped into the kitchen for her. When she fell ill, he didn’t bother to ask about her health. And love? That was a word Nathaniel had never spoken to her, not even in passing.
Her steady gaze met Stella’s. “Are you done talking?”
Stella blinked, startled. Cecilia’s voice was so serene it was disarming, her piercing eyes cutting through any pretense. For a fleeting moment, Stella’s confidence faltered. She saw the girl not as Nathaniel's timid, overshadowed wife but as someone whose quiet strength unsettled her.
As Cecilia walked away, Stella felt an inexplicable pang of vulnerability. It was as though she were a poor orphan again, reliant on the charity of the Smith family. The confident façade she had built over the years threatened to crumble.
Cecilia’s serenity was a mask, though. The moment she was alone, the weight of Stella’s words bore down on her. Her thoughts returned to the twelve years she had spent chasing Nathaniel’s love, only to learn that someone else had held his heart with a passion and innocence she could never touch.
Her ear throbbed painfully, the familiar buzzing growing unbearable. Removing her hearing aid, she noticed blood smearing the tiny device. Out of habit, she wiped it away and set it aside. Exhausted yet restless, she picked up her phone and opened Instagram.
Her breath caught when she saw dozens of notifications—posts tagging her—and clicked through them, realizing they were all from Stella.
Last updated on August 20th, 2025 at 11:21 pm
