After My Last Breath

[Elara]

“When will Daddy come home, Mommy?” Cora, my four-year-old daughter, asks.

The back of my eyes sting with disappointment. I look up at the time and breathe in a deep sigh. It’s already half past ten. No wonder Cora ran out of patience. She usually doesn’t complain about many things. All she ever asks for is to spend time with her daddy, something she rarely gets to do. And I wonder if it’s…too much to ask for?

But Damon…how could he do this? How could he not show up at his own daughter’s birthday? I’ve already called him at least a dozen times, left him several texts on Messenger. But still no response.

‘Where the hell are you, Damon? Are you really going to abandon your daughter on her birthday?’

Pushing back the hurt, I bring a smile to my face and pull Cora onto my lap, kissing the top of her head. “Very soon. You know Daddy loves you more than anything, don’t you? He’d never miss your birthday.”

“But it’s already so late. When are we going to cut the cake?”

I look at the cake placed on the table, the candles sitting on the side.

“Let me call him one more time. Maybe he’s already on his way.”

“Okay!”

Cora runs off into the kitchen, probably to check on the pasta we made together for Damon. It was Cora’s idea to surprise him this year, and she was pretty excited to be part of the entire process. But Damon…he can’t even be bothered to show up.

I grab the phone from the couch and walk out onto the balcony, waiting for him to answer.

He doesn’t.

I call again.

He picks up the phone this time.

“How many times do I have to repeat myself? I’m fucking busy.”

“But Damon—”

“I don’t have time for your nonsense. Unless this is life and death, please don’t disturb me again.”

He cuts off the call, and I bring down the phone, staring at the screen.

I’m not even surprised that Damon, my husband, dismissed me so easily, and that too with so much rudeness. What I don’t understand is why he is doing this to his daughter. Does he really not remember what day it is today? Does he really not care at all?

Five years ago, Damon married me out of vengeance. After my younger sister, and Damon’s one true love, Hannah, disappeared a day before their wedding, he easily put all the blame on me. He accused me of bullying and verbally abusing my own sister, going as far as to assume that the note she left behind—crying over how badly I had treated her all these years, and eventually pushing her to hurt herself—was true word for word. Even my own parents chose to believe Hannah, cutting all their ties with me.

They didn’t even give me the chance to prove my innocence.

They simply didn’t think I deserved it.

Perhaps that’s the reason I’m not surprised Damon would treat me like a woman who has no respect for herself, like I’m some bought woman he could take or discard at will. But Cora…why does she have to pay the price of my hopeless status? Why does she have to be disappointed on the day she should be the happiest?

I pull up the phone again, wondering if calling would piss Damon off even more. But what other choice do I have? I need to know if he will be coming, no matter how late. I need to have something to tell my daughter…something to make her feel a tad better.

Before I get to press the call, however, my phone pings with a text message.

When the image loads, my fingers go numb. It's a photo of Damon and...

For a second, I forget how to breathe.
Hannah.
My sister. The girl who vanished five years ago without a trace—leaving nothing behind but that cursed note.
For years, I tried to erase her from my memory, to stop replaying that night, to stop wondering if she was dead or alive.
And now, here she is, sitting so close with him.

They are in a restaurant, a large cake between them; a little boy of maybe five is blowing out the candles. My heart hammers so loudly I can hear it in my ears.

Did she come back to the state?

Not from five years ago, but five minutes ago. 

A text arrives right after.

“Stop waiting on him, El. Damon is exactly where he should be. With his real family.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and let the tears fall.

In the past, no matter how hard I tried to win him over, to show him that I’m more than just a stand-in for my younger sister, he hated me even more, treated me even worse. Time and again, he would remind me of my sins, of how I came between him and his one true love, how I robbed him of his happiness, and how I shouldn’t blame anyone but myself for how my life turned out.

But do I really have to be so pitiful? Will I really never have a say when it comes to our relationship?

Moreover, now that Hannah has returned—and with a child, no less—where does that leave me and Cora? Are we still part of his family, or…

The doorbell rings, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I look at the time, only to realize I have been out in the balcony for almost half an hour.

Did I really zone out for that long?

The doorbell rings again.

I quickly rush inside, heading for the door. It must be Damon—who else would come knocking at this hour? Besides, if I had a guest over, security would have informed me.

I open the door, smiling as my assumption proves right.

Though my smile falters when my gaze shifts to the person standing next to him.

“Elara!” Hannah throws her arms around me, catching me completely off guard and making me more than a little uncomfortable. Her perfume is the same. Sweet and cloying. I used to miss that scent in the first year she disappeared. Now, it makes my stomach turn.

“I finally get to see you! How have you been?” Her concern feels awkward as hell. She just returned from abroad — I only heard the news today— and not once did she try to reach out to me.

The only texts I get from her are pictures and locations of the places Damon takes her and Danny, her son.

When the shock wears off, I pull away. “What are you doing here?”

She steps back, almost bumping into Damon—who, surprisingly, steadies her with ease. “Oh, did Damon not tell you?”

It’s only then that I notice the child beside her, when she pulls him closer. “Danny and I will be staying the night. Our flat—”

“Their building had a robbery incident today,” Damon cuts in before she can finish. “She just got back from abroad this month, and the apartment she rented isn’t safe right now. I brought her and her son here to stay for a few days.”

With no further explanation, he pushes past me. “Don’t just stand there. Move.”