Chapter 4

Allison Day POV:

I circled the date on the calendar with a heavy red marker: Tuesday. The day I would finally be free. But first, there was Monday. Our fifth wedding anniversary. And my birthday.

I had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, the scars on my abdomen a roadmap of the pain I had endured. Erik had barely acknowledged my return, muttering a curt "Glad you're home" before retreating to his studio. Barbie had been conspicuously absent, which was a small mercy.

Today, I moved like a ghost through the apartment, cleaning, cooking Erik's favorite meals, the familiar routine a comfort and a curse. My body still ached, but the emotional pain was a dull, constant throb, less acute than before, but no less pervasive.

I planned a small surprise for Erik. A quiet dinner, just the two of us. I had bought a small, tasteful gift – a rare edition of sheet music from his favorite composer. I still hoped, foolishly perhaps, for a flicker of the man I had once known. A final, desperate attempt to reignite a dying flame.

As I kneaded dough for a special bread, the television in the living room flickered to life. Erik had left it on a news channel, featuring a segment on the classical music scene. I paid it little mind until a familiar melody drifted from the speakers – one of Erik' s recent compositions.

I glanced up. The screen showed a montage of Erik' s career highlights. Awards, roaring crowds, his hands flying over the piano keys. Then, the camera zoomed in on a close-up of his hands, beautiful and expressive, moving with practiced grace. His most prized possession.

Suddenly, a different hand entered the frame, slender, manicured, adorned with a sparkling diamond ring. It gently stroked Erik' s hand. He leaned into the touch, a soft, satisfied smile gracing his lips. My stomach twisted.

Then, the camera panned up, revealing Barbie Campos, her hair perfectly coiffed, her eyes sparkling with an artificial glow. She was sitting beside him, beaming at him with an adoration that felt sickeningly familiar.

The reporter' s voice, bright and eager, filled the room. "And here we have the power couple of the classical music world, Erik Alford and his stunning muse, Barbie Campos, celebrating Erik's latest triumph, the 'Ethereal Echoes' album!"

Ethereal Echoes. My album. My photographs. The ones I had spent months capturing Erik' s raw emotion, the ones he had sworn were our secret. The ones he had credited to Barbie.

A wave of nausea washed over me, cold and clammy. My hands trembled, my fingers losing their grip on the dough. Erik' s words, whispering in my ear years ago, came rushing back: "Allison, your eyes, your artistic vision, you see me like no one else. These photos... they' re our secret. Our art. Just for us." He had sworn then that no one else would ever lay claim to my work.

My vision blurred. A phantom itch bloomed on my skin, a familiar warning. My throat tightened. The faint scent of perfume, sickly sweet and cloying, seemed to emanate from the screen. It was Barbie' s signature scent, the one I was severely allergic to.

"Erik is changing the landscape of classical music," the reporter gushed. "And much of his inspiration, he claims, comes from his new collaborator, the multi-talented Barbie Campos, who not only inspires his music but also captures his image with her breathtaking photography!"

Breathtaking photography. My photography. My soul, laid bare for the world to see, and now attributed to her. The thought sent a jolt of pure, unadulterated pain through me. My life, my work, my very identity as Allison Day, was being erased, stolen, right before my eyes.

The reporter continued, "Many are wondering, with such undeniable chemistry, what's next for this dynamic duo? Will we see a more permanent collaboration, perhaps?"

Erik chuckled, a low, intimate sound. He turned to Barbie, his gaze adoring. "Barbie is my everything," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "She understands me. She moves me. She sees the world through a lens I never knew existed, capturing the very essence of my music." He squeezed her hand, the one with the diamond ring. "Indeed, my new venture into classical-pop fusion was entirely her idea. She believed in me when no one else did."

I felt the last shred of my hope, the pathetic, clinging hope for a final reconciliation, shrivel and die. I had been that person. I had seen him like no one else. I had inspired him. I had captured his essence. I had believed in him when he played in dingy bars, his piano case his only stage. But those memories, those truths, were now twisted into lies, attributed to another.

My jaw dropped. The dough, forgotten, slipped from my fingers and splatted onto the pristine marble floor. I didn' t care.

The camera zoomed in again, this time on Barbie' s necklace. A limited-edition diamond piece. The same one she had claimed I tried to destroy, the one she had held up like a trophy. No wonder she had been so quick to accuse me. It was her gift. Not mine.

I stared at Erik' s face on the screen, the smug satisfaction, the possessive gleam in his eyes as he looked at Barbie. He had abandoned me in the snow, let me suffer a miscarriage, and then publicly credited my work to his mistress. All on the day of our anniversary, my birthday.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. He had never once mentioned our anniversary. My birthday had passed without a word. He had gifted his mistress a diamond necklace while I lay broken in a hospital bed.

I suddenly remembered the small, exquisitely wrapped box that had been left on my nightstand this morning. I' d seen it when I woke up, a hopeful flutter in my chest. Maybe he remembered after all, I' d thought, clutching onto the last thread of delusion.

I rushed to the bedroom, the pain in my side momentarily forgotten. The box sat there, innocent and white. I tore at the ribbon, my fingers clumsy with a strange mix of anticipation and dread. Inside, nestled in purple tissue paper, was a small, ornate bottle.

Perfume.

My heart sank. Not just any perfume. It was a cheap, cloying scent, aggressively floral. The same scent that had triggered my worst allergies for years. A few years ago, I'd had a severe allergic reaction to a similar perfume, landing me in the emergency room. Erik had been furious, not at the perfume, but at the inconvenience. He had sworn then that he would never let that scent near me again.

And now, here it was. As an anniversary gift.

I uncapped the bottle, a tiny spritz on my wrist. The sickly sweet smell wafted up, instantly irritating my nasal passages. My eyes watered. My throat began to tickle. It was a cruel joke. He hadn't just forgotten my allergy; he had deliberately chosen a scent he knew would hurt me.

What kind of man does that? The thought echoed in the cavern of my mind. What kind of man forgets his wife' s most severe allergy, on her birthday, on their anniversary, after she has just lost their child and been publicly humiliated, while lavishing a diamond necklace on his mistress?

A memory stirred, a chilling one. Erik had once joked, "Allison, if you ever leave me, I'll make sure you regret it. I'll make sure your life is a living hell." I had laughed it off then, thinking it was just a playful comment. Now, it resonated with a sinister truth.

He was actively trying to hurt me. He wasn't just neglectful; he was malicious.

The elegant piece of sheet music I had bought for him, wrapped in delicate paper, lay forgotten on the dresser. It was a gesture of love, a plea for connection. But he didn't want love from me. He wanted devotion, subservience, and then, ultimately, erasure.

My hand still trembled, but not from pain or fear. It was a cold, hard tremor of resolve. The memory erasure. It wasn't just a choice anymore. It was a necessity. A survival instinct. I needed to cut him out, sever every connection, every memory that bound me to this cruel, manipulative man.

I walked to the trash can, the expensive perfume bottle clutched in my hand. I stared at it, then at the small, cheap silver ring Erik had given me as an engagement ring five years ago, a token that felt utterly worthless now. My 'Allison Day' identity, forged in amnesia and built on lies, was crumbling around me.

With a definitive clink, I dropped the perfume bottle into the bin. Then, with a deep breath, I pulled off the ring, the metal cold and insignificant against my skin. I held it for a moment, letting the bitterness wash over me, then tossed it in after the perfume.

The memories of Erik were not just painful; they were toxic. They were poisoning my very being. The procedure was booked. I would go through with it. I would erase him. And maybe, just maybe, I would find myself again, in the blank slate that remained.