Chapter 3: Faded Warmth

I sat on the edge of my bed that night, staring at the wall like it might give me answers. The house was finally quiet. Father had gone to his study after dinner, Isadora and Natalia were probably out at some event, and Evelyn had finished her evening chores. My body ached from the day’s work, but it was nothing compared to the ache in my chest.

The memories wouldn’t leave me alone. They kept pulling me back, forcing me to remember when things weren’t this bad. When Isadora had actually felt like a mother.

I lay back against the pillows and closed my eyes. The flashback came easily, like it had been waiting just beneath the surface.

I was six years old, sitting at the kitchen table with my legs swinging. Isadora stood at the counter, her dark hair tied back in a loose ponytail, humming an old song as she stirred something on the stove. The smell of chocolate chip cookies filled the air.

“Rory, come taste this,” she called, waving me over with a wooden spoon.

I hopped down and ran to her. She scooped a tiny bit of warm cookie dough onto the spoon and held it out. I blew on it carefully before tasting. It was sweet and perfect.

“Good?” she asked, smiling down at me.

“The best,” I said, grinning up at her with chocolate on my lips.

She laughed and wiped my mouth with her thumb. “You’re going to be such a good helper when you grow up. Just like your mama was.” Her voice softened when she mentioned my mother. She pulled me into a quick hug, resting her chin on top of my head. “We’re family now, sweetheart. I’m going to take care of you.”

The next day she brought in a personal maid for me. “Rory, come meet your new nanny,” she said, smiling at me. “This is Evelyn, and she will help you out with whatever you need.” She introduced the lady beside her.

I nodded happily, hugging Isadora. 

Those were the days I cherished. Isadora would read me stories at bedtime when Father was away on business. She taught me how to braid my hair and pick out nice dresses for family dinners. She even let me help plan Natalia’s nursery when she got pregnant, asking my opinion on colors like I was important.

“You’re going to be a big sister,” she told me one afternoon while we folded tiny baby clothes together. Her hand rested on her growing belly. “You’ll help me look after the baby, won’t you?”

I nodded eagerly. “I’ll be the best big sister ever.”

She kissed my forehead. “I know you will.”

Those months were warm. Safe. For the first time since my mother died during childbirth, I felt like I belonged somewhere.

Then Natalia was born.

The memory shifted.

I was seven now, standing outside the hospital room with Father. He looked tired but happy as he held the new baby wrapped in a pink blanket. Isadora was in the bed, exhausted but glowing as she reached for her daughter.

“Come meet your sister, Aurora,” she said softly.

I approached carefully and peered at the tiny face. Natalia had Isadora’s blue eyes and a shock of dark hair. She was perfect.

“Can I hold her?” I asked.

Isadora hesitated, then nodded. Father helped me sit in the chair and placed Natalia in my arms. I held her gently, staring in wonder. “She’s so small.”

For a few weeks after they came home, things were still okay. I helped with diapers and rocked Natalia when she cried. Isadora would smile at me sometimes and say, “You’re doing great, Rory.”

But slowly, everything changed.

It started with small things. Isadora was tired all the time. She snapped at me when I made noise playing. The bedtime stories stopped. The hugs became rare. Natalia took up all her attention, and I became the extra child who was always in the way.

By the time Natalia was two and learning to talk, the shift was complete.

One evening I spilled juice at dinner. It was an accident, my hands were still clumsy at that age. Isadora’s face hardened.

“Clean it up, Aurora. Now.”

I scrambled for a napkin, but she grabbed my wrist, squeezing too tight. “You’re always making messes. Natalia never does this.”

Father tried to intervene. “She’s just a child, Isadora.”

But his words were soft, and he didn’t push when Isadora shot him a look.

From then on, the criticisms never stopped. My clothes were never quite right. My grades were never high enough. My presence itself seemed to irritate her. Natalia quickly learned to copy her mother, pointing at me and saying “Bad Rory” with a giggle that made Isadora laugh.

The warmth I once felt from Isadora turned cold. The woman who used to bake cookies with me now looked at me like I was a burden she was stuck with. Father’s occasional affection became my only shield, and even that felt thinner as the years went on.

I opened my eyes in the present, tears already slipping down my cheeks. I was twenty-one now, but the little girl inside me still ached for those early days. For the version of Isadora who had made me feel wanted.

A quiet knock sounded on my door.

“Aurora?” Evelyn’s voice was soft. “Can I come in?”

I wiped my face quickly. “Yes.”

She slipped inside, carrying a small tray with tea and a sandwich. She took one look at my face and set the tray down, sitting beside me on the bed.

“Bad memories again?” she asked gently.

I nodded, pulling my knees to my chest. “I was thinking about when Isadora was nice. Before Natalia. She used to hug me. Call me sweetheart. She made me feel like I had a mom again. Then… everything changed.”

Evelyn sighed and rubbed my back. “I remember those days too. She was different back then. Having Natalia changed her. Some women pour everything into their own child and forget the ones who came before.”

“It hurts,” I whispered. “Knowing she chose to stop loving me. That I wasn’t enough for her either.”

“You were enough,” Evelyn said firmly. “You still are. Isadora’s change had nothing to do with your worth. It had everything to do with her own heart growing smaller.”

She stayed with me for a long time, letting me talk through the memories. I told her about the cookies, the stories, the way Isadora used to brush my hair. I told her about the first time she slapped me when I was twelve for talking back. I told her how Natalia learned to weaponize every insecurity I had.

Evelyn listened to it all without interrupting. When I finally ran out of words, she pulled me into a hug.

“You’ve carried so much for so long,” she murmured against my hair. “But you’re still here. Still kind. Still fighting. That means something.”

I cried into her shoulder again, the kind of deep, shaking sobs that come when you’ve been holding everything in for years. She didn’t pull away. She just held me tighter, whispering that I wasn’t alone, that one day the pain would make sense, that I deserved more than this house full of sharp edges.

When my tears finally slowed, she handed me the tea. It was still warm.

“Drink this and try to rest,” she said. “Tomorrow might be better.”

I doubted it, but I nodded anyway. As she stood to leave, she paused at the door.

“Whatever happens next, Aurora… remember who you are. Not who they say you are.”

The door clicked shut behind her.

I finished the tea and lay back down, staring at the ceiling. The flashbacks had left me drained, but they also stirred something else, a quiet anger mixed with deep sadness. I had lost so much. My real mother. The version of Isadora who cared. Ethan. My sense of safety.

And still, I stayed. Still, I endured. Because Father asked me to. Because Evelyn was here. Because I didn’t know where else to go.

But deep down, I wondered how much longer I could keep breaking without completely falling apart.