3

When the new violin arrived, Sienna was in the kitchen wearing my pajamas and mixing Ethan an electrolyte drink for his hangover.

They'd been at a class reunion the night before and hadn't come home until early morning.

I'd spent the whole night on standby with the orchestra. No one had asked where I was.

The man from the violin shop opened the case.

The new violin had cost a fortune. My name was engraved on the neck.

I glanced at it and said calmly, "Send it back."

Sienna came over with the glass. "Ethan spent all afternoon picking it out. Don't throw his thoughtfulness back in his face."

My voice was cold. "Stay out of my business."

Her hand jerked, the glass hit the floor, and water splashed over her feet.

Ethan rushed over to steady her.

Sienna said through tears, "I was only trying to talk Nora into accepting it."

Ethan rounded on me. "Do you have to make everyone miserable?"

I looked at the pajamas she was wearing. "Those are mine."

Sienna clutched at the collar. "I drank too much last night. Ethan just grabbed them from the closet."

It still hurt, but I didn't lose control the way I used to.

I went into the bedroom, bagged up the pajamas she'd worn, the towels she'd used, and the slippers, then threw it all out the door.

Ethan was livid. "You're getting more unreasonable by the day."

I met his eyes. "Then both of you can stay away from me."

After I shut the door, I got an email from a Nordic youth chamber orchestra.

Six months ago, one of my mother's former students had recommended me for their one-year residency.

I'd turned it down because I couldn't stand to leave Ethan.

Now a spot had opened up, and they wanted to know if I could be in Helsinki within five days.

I replied with one word. "Yes."

That afternoon, I managed to land a spot in a charity concert.

As I was leaving, Ethan handed me my coat. His voice was unusually gentle. "It's getting cold tonight. Let me know when the show's over, and I'll come pick you up."

I didn't take it, but I did pause for a second.

On a rainy night three years ago, he'd draped his coat over my violin case and gotten soaked all the way home.

The memory rushed back, and my eyes burned. Then I gripped the handle of my case and left without looking back.

Ten minutes before the show, a staff member came to find me and said, "Your husband says it's an emergency. He wants you in the parking lot."

I hurried downstairs and found Ethan standing beside his car.

It turned out Sienna had just come from a brand's cocktail party nearby. She'd demanded that the staff take down a display for a sponsor's competitor, and when they refused, she threw a fit.

Someone had caught it on video. She was up for a brand manager position next month, and if the footage got back to her company, it wasn't hard to guess what would happen.

"Go explain it to the organizers. Tell them you invited Sienna and what happened was just part of the show."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "She got drunk and made a scene. Why should I lie for her?"

Sienna hid behind him, eyes red. "If that video gets back to my company, I'm done."

"Then that's on you."

Ethan's expression hardened. "Nora, it's only a charity show. Explain it to the press. Someone else can take your place onstage, and nobody will lose anything."

The stage manager was already calling for me to get ready.

I clutched my case. "Get out of my way."

Instead, he snatched my badge and told the organizers that I was too upset to go on.

By the time I got to the stage door, my replacement was already out there.

Afterward, the video of Sienna was buried online, and the orchestra suspended me from every performance for the rest of the quarter.

Ethan sighed with relief. "Good thing that blew over."

I looked at him and suddenly laughed, even as tears slid down my face.

"Right. She's fine," I said, slowly and clearly. "I've been pulled from every performance, but that doesn't matter."

This time, when he reached for me, I turned away.