Chapter 4

Bianca POV:

The celebratory dinner was loud and boisterous. My team, exhausted but exhilarated, toasted our small victory. The forced smiles on my face gradually became more genuine as the champagne flowed and the camaraderie of my dancers wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I laughed, I joked, I felt a flicker of the old Bianca, the one who found joy in shared passion.

Then my phone buzzed. Corrine.

My mother's voice, when I answered, was clipped and urgent. "Bianca, where are you? You need to come home. Now."

"Mom, I'm celebrating with my team," I said, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. "It's been a tough few months, and we just finished a major project."

"This is more important," she insisted, her tone brittle. "It's about family. Adolfo wants everyone here. It's an important announcement."

"Can't it wait?" I sighed, glancing at my laughing colleagues. The thought of returning to that sterile penthouse, to the cold reality of my 'family,' made my stomach clench.

"Don't you dare question me, Bianca!" Her voice rose, shrill with indignation. "Do you have any idea how much Adolfo does for you? For us? Your studio, your tuition, everything! It all comes from him. The least you can do is show some respect. He expects you to be here. Don't make him angry."

I closed my eyes, a familiar weariness washing over me. This was Corrine's constant refrain, her perpetual anxiety about appeasing Adolfo, about maintaining her precarious position. I remembered her from years ago, when she first married Adolfo, a nervous wreck, scurrying around the penthouse, desperate to please. She had traded one form of subservience for another, exchanging the quiet dignity of our old life for the glittering chains of wealth. She was always reminding me of the sacrifices she made "for my future," always reminding me to be grateful, to conform. I often wondered if she truly believed the façade she built, or if she was just too afraid to admit her own unhappiness.

She used to be so different. After my father died, she was lost, frail. I watched her whither, her once vibrant spirit dimming under the weight of grief and mounting debts. When Adolfo Wright, the powerful, charming widower, came into her life, I remember her desperation, her quiet tears turning into hopeful, if fragile, smiles. She clung to his promises of security, safety, a future for us both.

But I also remembered the whispers of the past. The hushed conversations among my father's friends. The knowing looks. The subtle hints that Corrine and Adolfo's relationship might have predated my father's death. I had dismissed them then, clinging to the image of my grieving mother. But now, after Hunter's revelation, the pieces were falling into place, forming a grotesque mosaic. My mother, the heartbroken widow, was also the woman who had sought comfort, or perhaps opportunity, in another man's arms while her husband was still alive. She preached dependence, but her own path was paved with it, a path that led to her becoming nothing more than Adolfo' s trophy, a beautiful woman to adorn his arm, with no real power or voice of her own. I'd seen him belittle her, dismiss her opinions, treat her like an accessory. I'd seen her flinch, her eyes dropping, her spirit shrinking with each casual insult.

I remembered the time, years ago, when I was still a teenager. Adolfo had publicly humiliated her at a dinner party, making a snide remark about her lack of business acumen. Her face had crumpled, her hands shaking. I'd been so furious, so protective, I'd almost lashed out at him. But Hunter, then just a quiet, watchful presence, had caught my eye. He had given me a subtle shake of his head, a silent warning. Later, in the quiet solitude of the library, in our secret nook, he had offered me a rare moment of comfort. "Don't fight his battles for him, Bianca," he'd said, his voice low. "It doesn't help. It just makes things worse for her." He had squeezed my hand, his gaze unusually tender. "Some battles, you just have to endure."

I had believed him then. I had thought we were allies, two souls forced into an unnatural family, finding solace in each other's quiet understanding. I saw his mother's pain, the quiet suffering of a woman trapped, and I thought he saw my mother's too. I thought we were the same. Two children of flawed parents, navigating the wreckage of their choices.

Now, I knew the truth. Hunter hadn't been an ally. He'd been a silent, calculating observer, collecting data, fueling his bitter vengeance. Our shared secret place, our whispered confidences, his comforting words – they were all just part of his carefully constructed façade. He had used my vulnerability, my desire for connection, against me. I wasn' t his comrade in arms; I was his unwitting accomplice, a pawn in his long, brutal game. And his mother's suffering was merely a justification, a convenient narrative for his cruelties.

"Bianca? Are you listening?" Corrine's voice, sharp and impatient, dragged me back to the present.

"Yes, Mom," I said, my voice flat. "I'm coming."

I made my excuses to my bewildered team, leaving the celebration and stepping back into the chilling reality of my life. The penthouse loomed, a glass behemoth against the twilight sky.

Inside, Adolfo was unusually jovial. My mother hovered nearby, a brittle smile plastered on her face. Then Adolfo dropped the bombshell.

"Hunter will be bringing his fiancée home tonight," he boomed, a wide smile on his face. "Ashley. A lovely girl. And they're going to announce their engagement."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Engaged. To Ashley. The intern. The girl he'd used to replay my lessons. My stomach lurched. I swallowed the bitter taste of bile, a cold numbness spreading through my limbs. I should have expected this. He had made his intentions clear in his office. But hearing it, the finality of it, still felt like a fresh wound. Ashley, the innocent, the pure, the untainted. He was marrying her.

I nodded, my face a carefully constructed mask of indifference. What else could I do?

The doorbell chimed, a musical sound that grated against my raw nerves. Hunter entered, a possessive hand on Ashley's back. She was a vision in a soft pink dress, her hair perfectly coiffed, her eyes wide and sparkling. She looked every inch the innocent bride-to-be. A trophy.

My mother rushed forward, her face alight with an almost desperate eagerness. "Ashley, darling! You look absolutely radiant!" She enveloped Ashley in a hug, then turned to Hunter, a fawning smile on her face. "Hunter, congratulations!"

Adolfo, too, beamed at Ashley, a rare warmth softening his usually stern features. He seemed genuinely pleased, doting on her with an unfamiliar tenderness. Hunter, for his part, was attentive, his hand never leaving her. He pulled out her chair at the dinner table, poured her wine, listened with rapt attention as she chattered about her day. It was a carefully choreographed display of devotion.

I ate in silence, the expensive food tasteless in my mouth. Each clink of cutlery, each polite laugh, was a fresh torment. Ashley, aware of my silent presence, would occasionally glance at me, a subtle smirk playing on her lips before she turned back to Hunter, leaning into his touch, her eyes sparkling with triumphant malice.

"Oh, Bianca!" Ashley exclaimed suddenly, her voice dripping with feigned surprise. "I didn't even see you there! Hunter mentioned you were quite the busy artist. We're so excited about our project together, aren't we, darling?" She squeezed Hunter's arm, her gaze fixed on me, challenging.

"Indeed," I said, my voice flat, refusing to rise to her bait. "It's certainly... a unique collaboration."

"Oh, you're too kind!" Ashley giggled, then turned to my mother. "Mrs. Harper, your home is just exquisite. I can only dream of having such a beautiful place. You and Mr. Wright are so lucky to have each other." She sighed wistfully. "It must be wonderful to have such a strong man to take care of everything. To build such an empire."

The words, delivered with a childlike innocence, were a barbed arrow, aimed directly at Corrine's most vulnerable spot. They implied her dependence, her second-class status in this house. My mother' s smile faltered, her face tightening almost imperceptibly.

A cold fury ignited in me. Hunter had used her, but Ashley was actively twisting the knife. My mother might be flawed, may have made terrible choices, but she was still my mother. And no one, especially not this conniving little intern, was going to humiliate her like that.

I put down my fork, the clink echoing in the sudden lull. "Ashley," I said, my voice calm, almost dangerously so. "You're right. It must be wonderful to have a man build an empire. Especially when you haven't built anything yourself. It does take a certain kind of... talent... to latch onto success, doesn't it?"

Ashley's smile froze. Her eyes narrowed, the innocence gone, replaced by a flash of venomous anger. She opened her mouth to retort, but Adolfo, sensing the escalating tension, cleared his throat loudly.

"That's enough," he snapped, his voice authoritative. "Let's keep dinner civil."

The conversation died, replaced by an awkward silence. Hunter watched me, his expression unreadable, but a flicker of something, perhaps surprise, crossed his features. My mother looked at me, a strange mix of shock and gratitude in her eyes.

I pushed back my chair. "If you'll excuse me, I'm rather tired."

I walked out of the dining room, my back straight, leaving them all in the uncomfortable quiet. Upstairs, I locked my bedroom door, the silence of my room a welcome balm to my bruised soul. The bitterness of the evening, the sheer audacity of Hunter's public display, settled heavy in my chest. He was going to marry her. And I was going to be left with nothing but the ashes of a love I once thought was real.