Collateral Piper

The room suddenly felt smaller.

Then footsteps.

Furious and firm against the floor.

Paige appeared at the top of the stairs.

She had heard everything.

Her descent was slow, each step deliberate, rage simmering beneath her perfect posture. Her face was pale, eyes sharp and glassy, lips pressed so tight they blanched. Her hands curled and uncurled at her sides as she reached the bottom.

And without hesitation,

The sound echoed.

A sharp crack.

Stars swim

Piper’s head snapped to the side as pain exploded across her cheek. Her vision blurred instantly, the sting blooming hot and fast. She tasted blood as she staggered back, barely catching herself.

The room gasped.

A good thing the children had long been carried to the nursery by one of the helps.

Paige stood rigid, chest rising hard, hand still raised as if shocked by its own force. Her voice trembled—not with guilt, but fury barely contained.

“You don’t touch what isn’t yours.”

Piper slowly turned back, eyes wet, stunned into silence.

Paige stepped closer, her words spilling now, venomously. “You think a kiss makes you a wife? You think desperation turns you into something you’re not? You cheap wh*re!”

Thomas said nothing.

That silence cut deeper than anything ever could.

Piper swallowed hard, humiliation burning through her veins. She looked at him once—just once—searching for anything.

Defense.

Anything.

A sign that she hadn’t just sacrificed herself alone.

That she hadn't just turned the sacrificial lamb for a family that didn't even want her.

She found nothing.

Thomas didn't speak a word.

His lips pressed hard together, like he’d tasted something bitter he hadn’t expected to swallow.

His gaze skimmed over her a final time, in clear undeniable disgust, as if she was trash left where it shouldn’t be. Whatever he saw there hardened something in him.

He turned away.

The movement was abrupt and swift, his shoulder angling past her without care as he walked out.

Paige followed immediately.

Her heels struck the marble in quick, clipped sounds as she passed Piper, throwing her a percing glare. Her spine straightening as she moved, her chin high, as though she were reclaiming ground.

The door slammed.

The sound cracked through the living room like a whip.

Piper stood frozen where she was left.

Her hands hung uselessly at her sides. Her chest felt hollow, like something vital had been scooped out and taken with him.

She stared at the closed door, waiting—foolishly—for it to open again.

And that was when the ache truly settled in.

She was lesser than a contractual wife.

She was just collateral, and her good intents will forever be useless in this house.

Her vision blurred. The room warped at the edges. Heat flooded her face, sharp and burning, before it spilled over.

Tears came hard.

Not calmly or gracefully.

They streamed down her cheeks, hot and heavy, streaking her skin before she could stop them. She pressed a hand to her mouth, but a sound still escaped—thin, broken, and unfamiliar.

Her shoulders caved.

She folded inward, one arm wrapping around her middle like she could hold herself together if she tried hard enough. Her knees trembled. She braced against the arm of the chair, fingers digging into the fabric, to remain standing.

This was it.

The thought came clearly now.

She couldn’t do this anymore.

She would find another way to save Nana

Pray the kids would be alright without her

She straightened slowly, wiping her face with the back of her hand, leaving damp tracks behind. Her breathing hitched, uneven, but she forced it down. Forced herself to move.

One step.

Then another.

She turned toward the stairs.

She would pack her things quietly, take only what was hers. Leave before the house swallowed her whole. Leave before she broke lower than this.

As she turned the door knob and entered her room, her phone buzzed.

The sound was harsh and violent in the silence.

She stopped.

Another buzz.

She picked the phone up from her bed, fingers clumsy, unsteady. The screen lit up, and her heart lurched, something cold sliding through her veins as she saw it was a call from the hospital Nana was admitted.

"Hello."

"Hello ma'am. Am I speaking with Piper, daughter of Nana McDowell?"

"Yes?" Piper blinked hard, breath stuttering as her chest tightened painfully. Her heart couldn't take anymore crack.

Nana please.

"She had a crisis and has been moved into the ICU, your presence is needed at the hospital please."

Her knees buckled. She caught herself on the bed, Her chest burned as panic surged, loud and overwhelming, like she would have a panic attack.

"Okay. I'll be right there." She managed, before hearing the end beep.

ICU, the words swam, refusing to settle.

No.

“No…” The word slipped out, raw and helpless.

She didn’t think.

Packing vanished from her mind.

So did Thomas.

And Paige.

She lunged for her handbag on the chair by the door, nearly missing it in her haste. The strap slipped off her shoulder once, twice, before she shoved it back into place.

Her hands shook as she yanked the door open.

Everything else blurred into nothing as she rushed out the door, heart hammering so hard it hurt, lungs burning with every breath.

The night air rushed in, cold and biting against her damp face.

She didn’t look back.

She ran.