Chapter 3
My eyes were swollen when I woke up. I must’ve cried myself to sleep on the couch because the stiffness in my back told me I hadn’t moved all night. And I was late. I scrambled to my feet, realizing with horror that I hadn’t prepared breakfast—the one thing they expected from me without fail, every single day. As I rushed into the kitchen, I heard the sharp edge of Kier’s voice from the dining room. “Where have you been?” he snapped, seeing me step into the room. “Still sleeping at this hour? Where’s breakfast?” Before I could open my mouth, Camille emerged from the kitchen with a spatula in hand, smiling as if none of it was serious. “Don’t worry,” she said brightly. “I already started cooking. She’s tired, so I let my sister sleep a little longer.” “No!” Kier barked. “She should be ashamed of herself. Sleeping while you, our guest, cook? All she does is stay home, and now she’s even pushing her responsibility onto you?” He turned to me, fuming. “Have some care for the people feeding you. Do something useful.” I lowered my gaze and stepped past Camille quietly. “It’s okay,” I said softly. “I’ll handle the cooking. You just sit and wait.” Camille smiled, brushing her hair over her shoulder. “It’s fine. It’s just chopping vegetables. Don’t make it a big deal.” But before I could respond, our father walked in, placing a mug on the table. “Even if it’s just chopping, you shouldn’t do that, Camille,” he said. “Your hands aren’t made for the kitchen. You’re a designer, not a housemaid. Let Erika handle it—it’s her thing.” “It’s not a big deal, Dad,” Camille said with a small laugh, taking a knife anyway. “I can help.” “No, really, I’ll do it,” I said again, trying to take the knife from her hand. But she insisted, and I didn’t want to start an argument in front of everyone, so I let it go. We stood side by side at the counter, both cutting vegetables in a tense silence, until suddenly— “Agh!” Camille shrieked. Blood dripped from her finger. She dropped the knife as Kier rushed into the kitchen in panic. “What the hell happened?!” he shouted, grabbing her hand. “You’re bleeding! Goddamn it, Camille, your hand—do you even know how important that is?! You have a presentation next week!” “It’s okay, it’s just a scratch—” Kier turned on me before she could even finish. “This is your fault! You useless woman! You let her get hurt in your own kitchen! You couldn’t even chop the damn vegetables yourself?” I was stunned. “I—I didn’t—” But it didn’t matter. Camille tried to defend me, but her voice was drowned out by the chaos. They were all hovering over her, pressing tissues to her wound, blaming me for things I hadn’t done. And I didn’t even have the chance to explain that I had a wound too. The cut I got from cleaning up the broken vase hadn’t healed, and now with the kitchen work, it had split open again. But no one noticed. So I quietly stepped away, my bleeding hand hidden under the edge of my apron, and went back to my room. I sat on the edge of the bed, peeled off the bandage, and sighed as I pressed a clean towel to the reopened wound. The sting was sharp, but the silence stung more. Then the door burst open. Kier. “Apologize to Camille,” he ordered. I looked at him. “It wasn’t my fault. She insisted. It was an accident.” He narrowed his eyes. “So what? You’re still responsible. Apologize.” “I didn’t hurt her.” “I don’t care. Just do it.” Before I could respond, Camille entered the room too, still holding her bandaged finger. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice soft now. “There’s no need for that. My sister is not at fault. It’s on me.” I forced a nod, though my throat burned. Camille glanced at Kier. “Anyway, we need to talk about the trip. Only three days away now.” “Oh, right,” Kier said, his tone shifting instantly. “We’re heading to Paris. Business trip. I’ll need you to pack our things. I’m going, Camille’s going, and your dad too.” Paris. My heart skipped. “Can I come?” I asked before I could stop myself. They both looked at me. Kier let out a harsh laugh. “You? Erika, it’s a business trip, not a vacation. Don’t dream too high. You wouldn’t even know how to keep up with the conversations. You’d just embarrass us.” “I could just—” “No,” he cut in. “This is for work. Camille’s part of the brand’s pitch. You’d be out of place. You don’t even have clothes for something like this.” “I could—” “She’ll stay,” he said flatly, turning to Camille. “She can finish the chores while we’re gone.” Camille hesitated, eyes flicking to me with what might have been pity—or performance. “We’ll bring you something back,” she offered, with a thin smile. My lips stretched into a small nod, but I felt it. The heat behind my eyes. The silence in my throat. The lump in my chest I had learned to swallow every day. And then they laughed. Not mean-spirited, not sharp—but casual. The way people laugh when they’re comfortable, when they forget someone else is in the room. Like I was a joke. Like I wasn’t even there. Their voices trailed down the hallway as they made plans—restaurants in Paris, what Camille should wear, how the photos would look. I turned slowly, walked into our room, and shut the door behind me. No tears this time. Just stillness. I moved on instinct, pulling the suitcase from under the bed, unfolding shirts, checking lists, laying out Camille’s makeup bag, folding Kier’s blazers. I didn’t think—I just did what I had always done: prepared everyone else’s life while mine sat on the shelf, untouched. But then I saw it—Kier’s laptop. It was still open, still glowing faintly on the nightstand. Like it was waiting for me. I hesitated. And then I moved toward it. It took just one click. There it was. A photo. Clear as day. Kier in a tailored suit. Camille in a white dress, smiling like she had already won. The Eiffel Tower blurred behind them, gold lights blinking in the background. Pre-nup photoshoot – Paris folder. Another scroll down showed the wedding date. The one I’d seen in the email before. Confirmed. They weren’t even trying to hide it anymore. I stared at it. But I didn’t cry. Instead, I picked up my phone. I dialed the gallery—the one I’d visited in secret once, where the photos lined the walls, each one glimmering with confidence and artistry. I remembered the way the assistant had smiled at me when I lingered in front of the bridal portrait display. The phone rang once. Twice. “How may I help you?” I breathed in, slow and steady. Then spoke. “I’d like to schedule a wedding shoot. A pre-nup session.” “Of course, ma’am. May I ask the name of the bride and the groom?” I paused. Then smiled softly to myself. “There is no groom,” I said. “Just the bride. Me. Alone.” Because I was finally choosing myself.