Sienna's POV
As the car door opened, Emily stepped out first. The click of her heels against the driveway echoed with quiet confidence. Her smile was sweet, almost polite—if only her eyes weren’t undressing me in that irritating, condescending way. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to take your parking spot,” she said, raising an eyebrow. Casual, yet I could sense the sarcasm behind her words. “You don’t mind, do you?” I was about to respond, but Liam’s voice cut in from the other side of the car. His tone was flat and cold, clearly aimed at me. “This parking area doesn’t belong to anyone. Anyone can park here. No one has the right to feel offended.” It was a silent warning. His eyes pierced through me—firm, as if I were the problem. Before I could breathe, Noah’s voice rang out, cheerful and bright, but to me… cutting deep. “Aunt Emily, don’t listen to Mommy. Her car is ugly anyway. I’m embarrassed when she parks here.” I froze. My heart took a brutal hit. For the past four years, I’d raised that child. I was the one who fed him during fevers, read him bedtime stories, kissed his forehead every morning. And now… he could say that so easily? Liam didn’t scold him. Instead, he smiled faintly and gently held Emily’s arm. “Come on, let me show you the room I prepared for you. It’s right next to mine.” The words cut even deeper. Noah cheered. “Yay! Now I have someone fun to play with! Aunt Emily’s so cool! Not like Mommy, she’s boring.” I stood still. No expression. Empty. Once, I would’ve argued, gotten angry. But now… what for? Liam finally turned to me. “Emily’s staying here for a while. Her lease expired, and… I thought this was the best solution.” I nodded lightly. As if it wasn’t me hearing those words. As if I wasn’t the wife of a man who had just offered the room next to his to another woman. Liam looked slightly confused, probably not expecting my reaction to be so flat. Maybe he wanted me to explode. But I was already drained—shattered too many times to summon any rage. Emily spoke again, her voice feigning regret. “Maybe I should just stay at a hotel. After all, Sienna is your wife. I’m just an outsider.” Those words should’ve hurt. But I felt nothing. It was Noah who reacted. “Aunt Emily’s not an outsider!” he protested. “She was with Daddy first. If anyone’s a stranger here, it’s not her!” I almost laughed. Bitterly. How easily roles can be replaced—even in the eyes of a child I raised. “I bought this villa for Emily,” Liam said without hesitation. “She’s part of my life. Of course I don’t see her as an outsider.” Without waiting for my response, they went inside. Liam paused for a moment, reached into his pocket, and handed me something. Car keys. “Help Emily get her luggage from the trunk.” I stared at the keys for a few seconds. “She doesn’t have hands of her own?” I asked flatly. Liam looked at me, speechless. Maybe surprised. Maybe offended. I didn’t care. My voice held no anger—just emptiness. “If you don’t want to, I’ll ask the staff—” “No need,” I cut him off. “I’ll do it.” I took the keys without expression. No resentment. No surrender. Just a void too wide to fill. As I dragged the suitcase into the house, the scene in the living room hit me. Noah stood there, holding a small box, his face lit up with joy. “This is for Aunt Emily!” he said proudly. Emily looked surprised. “Noah… is this…?” I recognized the box. It was one of the birthday gifts I gave him—five-gram gold bars, one for each year. Four in total. Not for their worth, but for the meaning behind them. A mother’s love, a prayer that he’d never lack anything. And now, he was giving them to another woman. “I love Aunt Emily,” Noah said simply. “She’s pretty and nice. I want her to keep this.” Liam finally stepped in. “Noah, that gift was from Mommy. You shouldn’t just give it away.” But Noah insisted, “But Aunt Emily’s not just anyone! She’s special to me! And anyway, it’s just some gold, right? Our family isn’t short on money.” Liam looked at me. Maybe expecting me to be angry. But I simply said, “Let him. Noah’s right. Those gold bars aren’t worth much. If he wants to give them to someone he loves, that’s his right.” Emily turned toward me, awkward. Liam looked like he wanted to say more, but I was already walking away. I left the suitcase in the hallway, climbed the stairs, entered my room, and quietly closed the door. Behind the door, I leaned back. The cold wall pressed against my back, but it couldn’t cool the burn inside my chest. I closed my eyes. No tears. No sound. Seven more days. Just seven more. Then I would leave. Leave this house. Leave Liam. Leave Noah. All that would remain... is me—and the life I choose for myself.Liam's POV The office was silent, only the ticking of the clock competing with the sound of my own heartbeat. The sunlight, which should’ve felt warm, only added another weight on my back—burning my skin and tightening my chest. I sat in my work chair, documents open on the laptop screen, but the words no longer registered. I stared without truly seeing.I’d been here for two hours. Two hours sitting in silence, doing nothing. Since when did I become like this?My hand clenched on the table. It felt like there was a gaping hole in my chest—empty but full of pressure that couldn’t be explained. I tried to take a deep breath, but my chest was too tight. As if each inhale only filled half my lungs, the rest blocked by something invisible—regret, perhaps.My thoughts went back to that night. The night Sienna looked at me—not with anger, but with a terrifying calmness. Like someone who had finally stopped hoping. It wasn’t a look of hate. Nor disappointment.
Sienna's POV I lay down, pulling the blanket up to my chest. A long exhale escaped my lips. I was tired. Not just physically, but in the way someone feels after a long battle where no one really wins. I didn’t even know if this was a victory or just another escape. My eyes stared at the ceiling. Blank. Empty. And strangely, that emptiness felt more honest than the fake smile I used to wear in that house. I remembered Noah. His innocent face lying on that hospital bed. His small eyes looking at me full of hope, full of longing. Only that child made me hesitate. Only because of Noah did I still ask myself: Should I go back?But should I return to the very place that slowly killed me, just to be beside a child who doesn’t even know what’s happening?Tears slid silently from the corners of my eyes. Warm, and somehow reaching deep into my chest. I love Noah. So much. But I can’t sacrifice myself again—not even for him.I’ve tried before. Stayed for o
Sienna's POVI cried for myself. For all those years I waited for someone who never even realized I was bleeding. For years I tried to be enough for someone who never truly wanted to see me. And now… now that he finally turned to look at me, I am already too tired. My phone buzzed again. But this time, I didn’t want to look at it. Didn’t want to know. I needed time for myself. To reweave the shattered pieces of my heart. To rebuild the self-worth that once crumbled, piece by piece. I lay down on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. The world felt quiet, but for the first time, the silence didn’t scare me. Because now I know… I still have myself.I let my body sink deeper into the sofa. The late afternoon air slipped in through the slightly opened window, carrying the scent of freshly fallen rain. Outside, the sky was still gray, as if it too felt the weight on my chest. But I wasn’t crying anymore. That earlier cry had been my last one today—or at least I ho
Sienna's POV I shook my head slowly. “I loved you, Liam. I did. But I’m just too tired now. My love for you has long burned out. I can’t go back to a place that broke me—slowly, every single day. I have to choose to love myself this time.”He looked at me like he wanted to beg. But no words came out.“Don’t ask me to come back just because you feel empty. I know what it’s like to live with someone who doesn’t love me the way I loved them. I don’t want Noah to see that and think that’s what love looks like.”I picked up my small bag and stood. “Thank you for being honest, Liam. But this… it’s too late.”Before I turned away, I caught a glimpse of the broken expression on his face. But I knew—if I stayed there any longer, I would fall into the same wound again.I wouldn’t let that happen again.I walked out of the café with quick steps, as if the glass walls would collapse behind me if I delayed even for a second. The soft sound of the door closing be
Sienna's POV My steps paused for a moment in front of the glass door of the small café just across from the apartment. The damp morning air still clung to my skin, but it wasn’t that which made my body feel heavy—it was the reality that I was about to sit down and talk with someone who had once been the center of my life… and also its undoing.I pushed the door open and immediately spotted Liam sitting in the corner of the café, wearing a dark shirt, his hands clasped anxiously on the table. His eyes went straight to me the moment I walked in. I saw a flash of relief on his face, but I didn’t return his expression with a smile. I took a deep breath and walked over.“Morning,” I murmured briefly, then sat down across from him.“Morning,” Liam replied softly.A barista came over and we ordered. I chose an espresso. I needed something strong to keep my mind steady during this conversation. Liam ordered an americano.Once our drinks arrived, he looked at the sma
Sienna's POV My sobs slowly faded, though my body still trembled. I wiped away my tears with the back of my hand, still hiccuping as I tried to breathe. The ache remained, but at least now I could breathe a little easier. Liliana led me to the sofa without many words. She wrapped a blanket around me, then disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a warm glass of water. Her hand touched my shoulder gently as she offered it to me. I accepted it, though my hands were still shaking. A sip of that warm water slid down my throat like a quiet hug, comforting without needing any explanation. I sat with my knees pulled to my chest, wrapped in silence that somehow felt warmer than any words. Liliana sat beside me, not forcing me to speak. Just being there. Sometimes, that was exactly what I needed—someone who didn’t try to fix me, just stayed. The ticking of the wall clock was soft. Outside the window, the city remained awake under the glow of amb