Chapter 8

Chelsea Hardy POV:

Kamryn' s eyes, bright and accusatory, pinned me to the spot. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat of terror and humiliation. She' d seen me. Coming out of Holden' s room. My pale face, my disheveled hair, my crumpled clothes, all screaming of a secret transgression.

"Kamryn," I managed, my voice a thin whisper. "I-"

Before I could explain, the front door opened downstairs, and I heard Holden' s voice, followed by two unfamiliar, formal voices. Kamryn' s parents. The engagement party weekend had officially begun.

Kamryn' s smirk widened, a silent, triumphant sneer. "We'll talk later, dear," she whispered, her voice dripping with fake concern, loud enough only for me to hear. "I wouldn't want to ruin my parents' arrival with your... little problems." She swept past me, a fragrant cloud of expensive perfume, her heels clicking purposefully down the stairs.

I stood there, frozen, until I heard the warm greetings, the polite laughter, the clinking of glasses. My world felt cold, detached. I was an intruder in my own home.

My flight was in less than three hours.

I returned to my room, my hands shaking so violently I could barely fasten the buckles on my suitcase. The shame, the anger, the bitter injustice of it all, threatened to consume me. He had blamed me. He had made me feel like a criminal. And Kamryn, with her knowing smirk, had confirmed my worst fears: they would both use this against me.

I grabbed my phone, my fingers fumbling. One last message. To my uncle. "I'm coming. ETA soon. Don't worry if I don't call. Phone will be off."

Then, I opened my contacts. Holden. My thumb hovered over his name. No. He didn' t deserve to know.

My mother, Patricia Wolf. My finger paused again. The name felt heavy, loaded with a lifetime of neglect and casual cruelty. I tapped it. Call.

The phone rang twice before her brisk, impatient voice answered. "Chelsea? What is it? I'm quite busy right now. Kamryn's parents just arrived."

"Mom," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "I need to tell you something."

"Can't it wait?" she sighed, a familiar irritation coloring her tone. "It's a big day for Holden and Kamryn. I don't have time for your usual dramatics."

"I'm leaving," I said, the words tumbling out, cold and clear. "I'm going to New York."

A beat of stunned silence. Then, her voice, sharp and laced with accusation. "New York? What on earth are you talking about? Are you running away? Is this about Holden? About last night?"

My blood ran cold. Last night? How did she know? Kamryn. Of course.

"What about last night?" I asked, my voice dangerously low.

"Don't play coy, Chelsea!" she snapped, her voice rising. "Kamryn just told me you were seen coming out of Holden's room this morning, looking utterly disheveled! What exactly do you think you were doing? Trying to sabotage his engagement? Are you trying to seduce your step-brother?" Her voice was laced with pure disgust. "After all he's done for you, giving you a home, providing for you, this is how you repay him? By trying to ruin his life?"

The accusations hit me like a barrage of stones. My head reeled. Seduce my step-brother. The words echoed in my ears, ringing with a horrifying truth that was not my own. They were twisting it. Making me the villain. Again.

My vision blurred, hot tears stinging my eyes. This was my mother. The woman who should have protected me, believed me. The woman who saw me as nothing but a nuisance, a threat to her perfect new life with my stepfather and his perfect son.

I remembered my childhood, a fragmented tapestry of loneliness and longing. My mother, always distant, always preoccupied with her new husband, my stepfather, and his charming, successful son, Holden. I was the leftover, the baggage from a previous life. Holden, despite his eventual cruelty, had been the only one who seemed to truly see me, to offer a glimmer of warmth in my cold, isolated world. He was my protector, until he became my tormentor. My mother, on the other hand, had always been consistent in her neglect. Her "concern" always manifested as an accusation, a lecture, a thinly veiled criticism.

"Do you even care, Mom?" I whispered, the words choked with pain. "Do you even know what happened? Do you even know your own daughter?"

Another sigh, heavier this time, dripping with martyrdom. "What I know, Chelsea, is that you are jeopardizing everything. My standing in this family, Holden's future, everything! This is your last warning. If you cause any scandal, any trouble, I will make sure you regret it. Do you understand me?"

The phone clicked. She had hung up. Just like that. The final, brutal severing of the last flimsy tie.

I stared at the black screen, her name, "Mom," glowing faintly. It felt like a punch to the gut. My last anchor, gone. My stomach churned, a bitter, acidic taste rising in my throat.

Good. It was over. All of it.

My flight was in two hours.

The next few hours were a whirlwind of numb activity. I went through the house, leaving only a small, neatly folded note on my bed. It was short, to the point: "I'm gone. Don't look for me. Live your lives. I'll live mine."

I deleted every photo, every message, every trace of Holden from my phone. I deleted my social media accounts. All of them. Then, with a deep, shaky breath, I performed a factory reset on my phone. A complete wipe. No memories. No connections. A blank slate.

I took one last look at my room, at the house that had been both my sanctuary and my prison. Empty. Just like I felt. But beneath the emptiness, a tiny spark of something new ignited. Freedom.

I picked up my suitcase, my new platinum hair shining under the morning light. I walked out the front door, closing it softly behind me. No fanfare. No goodbyes. Just the quiet click of a lock, sealing off a lifetime.