Chapter 1

After a fire stole my family and my voice, my boyfriend Jermain promised to be my shield. I was the silent composer behind our band's success, fighting to speak again-for him.

Then I overheard him call me "damaged goods, a millstone around my neck."

His betrayal escalated. He let his new flame publicly humiliate me, then abandoned me-injured and deafened-in a storm, calling me a "liability."

The boy who promised to be my voice was gone. In his place was a stranger who saw me only as a burden he was tired of carrying.

So I vanished. Three years later, with my voice and hearing restored, I returned not as a victim, but as a celebrated artist. He's back, begging for a second chance, but he's about to learn that the "damaged goods" he threw away are now priceless.

Chapter 1

"She's just... damaged goods, Cheri. A millstone around my neck."

The words, thick with a contempt I' d never imagined, sliced through the flimsy door of the soundproofed booth. They hit me like a physical blow, each syllable chipping away at the fragile world I had built around myself. My breath hitched, a silent, desperate gasp that no one would hear.

My throat tightened, a familiar vise clamping down, stealing the air from my lungs. It was a sensation I knew well, one that always preceded the crushing weight of a panic attack. But this time was different. This time, the trigger wasn't a phantom flame or a distant siren. It was the voice of the man who had promised to be my shield.

My therapist, Dr. Evans, had called my progress "remarkable." Just this morning, she'd beamed, praising my courage. "You're finding your voice again, Elia. It's truly inspiring."

I had been working so hard, pushing past the terror, coaxing sounds from a throat that had been silent for years. All of it for him. For Jermain. I had imagined his face, lit up with pride, when I finally spoke his name without a tremor, when I surprised him with the new song I was writing, a song about hope and resilience, a song about us.

The fire had taken everything. My parents. My home. My voice. I remembered the metallic tang of smoke, the acrid smell of burning rubber, the terrifying silence that followed the last scream. Just sixteen, I had been pulled from the wreckage, a ghost in my own life. My vocal cords, physically unharmed, refused to cooperate. Trauma had built a fortress of silence around me.

Then Jermain had appeared, a beacon in the ash and rubble. He was scraped and bruised, his vibrant blue shirt smeared with my mother's blood, but his eyes were clear, unwavering. He'd knelt beside my hospital bed, taken my trembling hand, and whispered, "I'll be your voice, Elia. Always. I promise."

And he had been. For years. He spoke for me, fought for me, protected me from a world that felt too loud, too bright, too demanding. He was the charismatic frontman of our band, the one who charmed fans and navigated the complex social landscape I couldn't face. I was the quiet composer, the brilliant music mind behind their rising success, always in the shadows, always safe behind Jermain. His presence was a soft blanket, a constant hum of reassurance that calmed the tremor in my hands.

The sound of his laughter, loud and boisterous, echoed from the hallway. My heart pounded, a frantic drum against my ribs. I thought he was waiting for me. That he was excited to hear the breakthrough I' d just made. My fingers curled around the doorknob, preparing to push it open, to surprise him, to show him how much I appreciated his patience and love.

Then Cheri Harrington' s voice, saccharine sweet yet laced with venom, drifted through the thin wood. "Oh, Jermain. Still carrying that baggage around?"

My hand froze. Baggage. Is that what I was?

Jermain chuckled, a sound devoid of warmth. "What else can I do? It's been years. The whole 'tragic muse' thing is getting old."

A wave of nausea washed over me. My legs felt like jelly. I leaned against the doorframe, trying to steady myself.

"She's a burden, Jermain," Cheri continued, her voice dropping conspiratorially. "A pretty, talented burden, I'll grant you that, but a burden nonetheless. Look at you. You could be a global superstar. But you're tied to her apron strings, always making excuses for her anxiety, her silences."

Emil Young, our drummer, chimed in with a low whistle. "She's dead weight, man. Seriously. You're losing opportunities."

Dead weight. The words echoed in the small, sterile room, each one a shard of glass ripping through my chest. My breath caught, a silent scream trapped in my tightening throat.

I gripped the doorknob so hard my knuckles turned white. Every sound from the other side of the door was magnified, painfully clear.

"It's just... complicated," Jermain said, his voice a low rumble. An attempt at defense, or maybe just an excuse?

"Complicated?" Cheri scoffed. "What's complicated about wanting a normal life? About not having to babysit your girlfriend every time she steps outside? About not having to be her designated mouthpiece at every social event?"

"She has an agreement with you from her childhood, right?" Emil added. "A sick, twisted version of a promise. That's not love, man. That's a gilded cage."

A gilded cage. Was that all our relationship was? A twisted obligation, a childhood promise that had suffocated us both?

Jermain sighed, a heavy, exhausted sound. "I'm just tired, okay? Tired of constantly worrying if she's going to freak out. Tired of missing out on networking events because she can't handle crowds. Tired of being her keeper."

Keeper. The word felt like a brand, searing my skin.

"See?" Cheri' s voice was triumphant. "You're tired. It's only natural. You're a rock star, Jermain! You're meant to shine, not to be a glorified nursemaid. You're not her keeper. You're her boyfriend. And frankly, you deserve someone who can stand by your side, not someone you constantly have to prop up."

My world shattered. It wasn't a sudden crack, but a slow, agonizing crumble. Each of their words, Jermain's especially, chipped away at the foundation of my reality. The air grew thin, my vision blurred. I was suffocating, not from panic, but from the sheer, crushing weight of his betrayal.

Cheri's voice, now a smug purr, confirmed the depth of his disgust. "He doesn't hate you, Elia. He just... resents you."

"I don't resent her," Jermain muttered, but his voice was devoid of conviction, heavy with a bitter weariness that spoke volumes. "I just... I want to live. I want to be free. I want to make music without constantly looking over my shoulder, wondering if she's going to have an episode."

"She's like a ghost," Emil said softly. "A beautiful, talented ghost, but a ghost nonetheless. Haunting you with her past."

A ghost. A burden. Damaged goods. Was that what I was? Not Elia, the artist, the woman he loved, but a tragic relic, a constant reminder of a past he wished to escape.

"You know what you need to do," Cheri whispered, her voice a siren song of ambition. "Cut the cord. You're Jermain Anderson. You could have anyone. Why tie yourself to a tragedy that isn't even yours?"

Jermain sighed again, a sound so profound it ripped through me. A sigh of heartbreak, but not for me. For himself. For the life he felt I was holding him back from.

"But... the promise," he mumbled, a faint echo of the boy who had once held my hand. "After the fire... I told her I'd always be there."

Cheri laughed, a sharp, cynical sound. "Childish promises, Jermain. We all make them. You need to tell her the truth. Gently, of course. But firmly."

Silence. A potent, damning silence. It wasn't gentle. It was brutal. His silence was his answer. It was a confirmation of everything they had said.

My breath caught in my chest, burning. My eyes welled up, but the tears felt scalding, unable to soothe the fire raging inside me. The carefully constructed facade of my life crumbled, leaving me exposed, vulnerable, and utterly alone.

My fingers, still clutching the doorknob, lost their grip. The sound of it slipping from my grasp felt impossibly loud. I stumbled backward, my legs giving out. I hit the cold, hard floor with a thud, biting back a sob, clamping my hand over my mouth to stifle the sound. My head swam, the room spinning around me.

My throat burned. All those words I had painstakingly learned, practiced in front of the mirror, the words I had saved for him, for our future. They were bitter ash in my mouth now. The "I love you" I had planned to whisper, the "thank you" for his unwavering support. They were meaningless. A lie.

He hadn't loved me. He hadn't protected me. He had tolerated me. He had pitied me. He hadn't seen me, not Elia, the girl who wrote songs with her heart, but Elia, the tragedy. The project. The millstone.

A sharp pain shot through my hand. I must have hit it when I fell. It was a dull ache, nothing compared to the gaping wound in my chest. But it was real. My body ached, mirroring the deep, irreparable damage to my soul. I couldn't scream. I couldn't even whimper. Only silent tears streamed down my face, hot and furious.

But even as the pain threatened to consume me, a new, cold resolve began to form in the pit of my stomach. No. I wouldn't be a victim. Not anymore. I would not be defined by their pity, their disdain, or their betrayal. I would not be dead weight.

I pushed myself up, slowly, deliberately. My legs still trembled, but my jaw was set. I wiped the tears from my cheeks with a shaky hand, forcing myself to breathe, to think. My silence, once a prison, would now be my shield. And my weapon.

The voices outside had faded into a murmur. They were probably leaving, moving on to their ambitious plans, their pity for me long forgotten. I took a deep, shuddering breath, smoothed down my clothes, and composed my face into a mask of serene indifference.

A soft knock. Jermain's voice, overly bright, overly cheerful, filtered through the door. "Elia? You in there? Everything okay?"

I opened the door, a small, polite smile fixed on my lips. He stood there, all charming smiles and carefully ruffled hair, his hand reaching out to touch my arm. I flinched, almost imperceptibly, stepping back just enough for his hand to drop awkwardly to his side. The air between us crackled with a sudden, uncomfortable tension.

"Dr. Evans said you made amazing progress today!" he gushed, his eyes darting around the room, avoiding mine. "That's fantastic, sweetheart. Really, really great."

I nodded, a stiff, controlled movement. My throat ached, not from panic, but from the words I refused to say, the truths I refused to acknowledge out loud.

"So," he continued, a little too quickly, "Cheri and Emil are heading out. We thought we might grab a bite. Want to join?"

I looked at him, truly looked at him. His eyes, once so full of warmth and devotion, now seemed distant, opaque. The boy who had promised to be my voice was gone. In his place stood a stranger, a selfish, ambitious man I no longer recognized. He was looking at me, but he wasn't seeing me. He was seeing the millstone, the burden, the damaged goods.

"No," I managed to croak, my voice raspy, a deliberate effort to feign a lingering speech issue. "Throat... hurts."

A flicker of relief, so quick it was almost imperceptible, crossed his face. "Oh, right. Of course. Well, you rest up. We'll grab something for you, okay? Don't worry about a thing." He turned, already halfway out the door, eager to escape.

"Jermain," I called out, a forced whisper that made him pause.

He turned back, a hint of impatience in his eyes. "Yes, Elia?"

"Nothing," I whispered. "Just... be careful."

He forced a smile. "Always, sweetheart. Always." And with that, he was gone, his footsteps receding down the hall.

My back to the door, I pulled out my phone, my fingers flying across the screen. The contacts list. Jermain Anderson. Three quick taps. "Block contact." Done.

Then, with a newfound resolve that pulsed through my veins, I started typing a message to Dr. Evans. I need a new path. Somewhere far away. I need to find my own voice. All of it.

The silence in the room was no longer a prison. It was a blank canvas. And I, Elia Hampton, was about to paint a masterpiece.