Eloise I didn’t know what I was expecting when I pulled into the airport parking lot, but it wasn’t this. It had been three years since my dad left. Three long years of silence that stretched between us like a cold void. The heart problems that sent him overseas had been serious, life-threatening even. And with Jadeline, my stepmom, by his side, I didn’t expect the same father I remembered. He had always been the life of the party, loud, charismatic, the type of man who had a hundred friends but none of them really knew him. And then, in the blink of an eye, everything changed. Just like that, he left. And I was left with the remnants of a broken family to navigate alone. But now they are finally coming home. I could see the hustle and bustle of the airport as I walked through the automatic doors, the smell of coffee and harsh floor cleaner in the air mixing with the low hum of chatter and rolling suitcases. People hugging each other, children screaming with joy, lovers kissing as
LUCIAN I sat in silence, sprawled across the velvet couch of my penthouse living room, my shirt half unbuttoned, smoke curling from the cigarette clenched between my lips. A half-empty bottle of bourbon sat on the marble coffee table, amber liquid gleaming under recessed lighting. I leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees, feeling the expensive fabric of my trousers strain against my thighs. I could hear the low hum of traffic thirty stories below, the occasional wail of a siren. I took a long drag from my cigarette, inhaling deep enough that my chest burned. Then I exhaled slow, watching the smoke spiral up into the shadows above. The silence was too loud. I hated silence. My eyes flicked to the glass wall across the room. Beyond it lay the city I owned, my companies, my buildings, my investments, all of it stretching out like an empire carved by my own ruthless hands. But tonight, it felt empty. Meaningless as well. As though I was staring at a world that belonged to someone
MIKE The car was silent as I drove Ava home. The engine’s low hum filled the void between us, mingling with the faint squeal of wiper blades scraping against the windshield as dusk settled into cold drizzle. Her quiet sobs had stopped back at the atelier, replaced now by an eerie, defeated stillness. She sat curled into the passenger seat, arms wrapped tight around herself, her head resting against the window as streetlights slid across her face in fractured gold. My hands clenched the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white. I felt both relieved that the truth was out, and sickened by what it had cost. Eloise’s face burned in my mind – the flatness of her voice, the hollow devastation in her eyes as she looked at us like strangers wearing masks of people she once loved. I wanted to believe we had done the right thing. Confession was supposed to set you free, wasn’t it? But as I glanced over at Ava’s trembling silhouette, all I felt was the deep, gnawing ache of guilt. Traff
ELOISE The atelier felt colder than ever as their voices faded into silence. I stood there, my hands trembling at my sides, staring at Ava’s tear-streaked face and Mike’s downturned eyes. I felt all the air leave my lungs all at once. I understand that it’s been a over a decade but how could Ava herself hide something like this from me even during our time at the college. My mind spun with fragments of memories – Ava and I curled up in her dorm room after final critiques, laughing at the way our professors pronounced French designers’ names with pompous accents; Ava leaving little love notes on my mirror before shows, scribbled with “You’re stronger than your fear.” Stronger than your fear. I wanted to laugh at the irony. Now, standing here under the harsh white pendant lamp, the shadows pooled around my feet felt deeper than fear – they felt like an unbreakable iron, chaining my heart to the floor. Ava sobbed once more, the sound tearing at my chest in a way I didn’t want to f
MIKE The smell of jasmine freshener drifted in and out with the help of the AC behind Eloise as I stood across her. My heart hammered against my ribs, heavy and punishing with each beat. I watched the faint tremble in her hands as she leaned against her workbench, her dark eyes fixed on Ava with such icy detachment I felt it cut through me too. Ava stood beside me, shoulders quivering, her fingers clutched around the strap of her leather tote bag as though it was the only thing keeping her upright. The silence stretched between the three of us, thick with dread and unspoken words. It was the kind of silence that felt tight, pressing into your chest until it forced the breath from your lungs. I swallowed hard, my throat dry and tight. “Ellie…” I began softly, but my voice felt useless in this room, like a blade too blunt to slice anything real. “Don’t,” she cut in quietly, her gaze unmoving from Ava. Her tone held no anger, no grief, just an echoing emptiness that terrified me more
ELOISE I stood bent over the workbench, a magnifying visor strapped to my forehead, smoothing the sharp edge of a sterling silver pendant with a fine file. The sound of metal against metal was rhythmic, calming, like scraping away slivers of my own fear. Outside, the early sun was bright and unkind, streaking through the high windows to cast harsh white rectangles across the worn wooden floorboards. Max was at preschool for the day, his bright laughter echoing faintly in my mind as I worked. He had kissed my cheek as I dropped him off whispering “Make something beautiful today, Mama.” Those words clung to me now as armor. I adjusted the tiny prong of the pendant setting under my visor. Just as I slipped off my visor to inspect the final polish, I heard the faint jingle of the front door bell. My heart sank immediately. I wasn’t expecting clients today. My assistant, Ruki, was out sourcing stone samples from the market. I set down my tools carefully, wiping my hands on the faded bl