Chapter 2

"The Vienna Conservatory residency requires complete immersion, Ms. Dawson," the program director's voice echoed through the phone. "That means no external contact, no public appearances, for the duration of the program. It's a two-year commitment, deferred, of course, due to your... prior commitments."

"I understand," I replied, my voice steady, though my heart was a frantic drum against my ribs. "Isolation is precisely what I need." Escape, I thought. Escape from everything.

"Excellent. We'll handle all the travel arrangements, logistics, everything. Just pack your essentials. A new life awaits." His words, meant to be reassuring, felt like a promise of oblivion. And I welcomed it.

I walked into the house, Arthur' s house, our house. The grand foyer, the sweeping staircase, the tasteful art. Every corner held a memory, a ghost. The crystal vase he bought me for our first anniversary. The custom-made piano in the living room, a gift after my last major composition was performed. Our wedding photo, smiling faces frozen in a moment of naive bliss, sat on the mantle.

My stomach turned. These weren't memories; they were shackles. Symbols of a lie. Each object, once cherished, now radiated a cold, suffocating falseness.

I grabbed the wedding photo. My fingers trembled, not with sadness, but with a visceral disgust. I ripped it from its frame, tearing Arthur's smiling face into jagged pieces. The crystal vase followed, shattering on the polished marble floor, its shards reflecting my distorted image. The piano. Oh, the piano. My voice, my love, my life, poured into that instrument. I slammed the lid shut, a final, jarring chord of discord echoing through the silent house.

I didn't stop until every relic of "us" was either broken, defaced, or gathered into a growing pile of trash bags. The remnants of our shared life, now just refuse. I dragged the bags to the curb, a perverse sense of satisfaction coursing through me as I watched the garbage truck devour them.

Then, I started packing my things. My scores, my journals, a few cherished books. Clothes that were mine, not chosen to impress him. I called a discreet shipping company, arranging for my belongings to be sent to a storage unit under a new name.

Arthur didn't come home that night. Or the next.

When he finally sauntered in, late on the third night, he looked rumpled but cheerful. He smelled of a cloying, sickly sweet perfume that wasn't mine. He leaned down, placing a kiss on my forehead. His lips felt cold. Distant.

"Hey, sleepyhead," he murmured, his arm snaking around my waist. "Miss me?"

I flinched. A raw, involuntary recoil. His touch felt like a burning brand. The perfume, thick and heavy, made my gorge rise. It was the same scent Karin wore.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his brow furrowed with a practiced concern. "You seem... off."

"Just tired," I managed, my voice flat. "Long week."

He pulled a small, velvet box from his pocket. "I know I've been busy," he said, opening it to reveal a glittering diamond pendant. "A little something to say sorry. And to remind you how much I adore you."

The pendant sparkled, cold and lifeless, under the dim light. It meant nothing. I stared at it, then at him, my expression unreadable.

He frowned. "Elenora? What's wrong? You've been down lately. Is it... us?" He pulled me closer, his eyes searching mine, feigning vulnerability. "You know I love you, right?"

"You want to know what's wrong, Arthur?" My voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through the silence like a knife. "I want a child. I want a family. So badly."

His body stiffened. The practiced vulnerability vanished, replaced by a flicker of panic. "Elenora, we've talked about this," he began, the familiar script rolling off his tongue. "My career, the pressure. It's just not the right time. Not fair to a child, with my schedule."

"Not fair?" I echoed, the whispers of Karin's toxic words echoing in my mind. "Or is it just not convenient for you?"

He opened his mouth to protest, but his phone buzzed. Loudly. He glanced at the screen, and his eyes widened. "Damn it," he muttered. "Work. Urgent. Gotta go." He sprang up, grabbing his jacket.

"Always work, Arthur?" I asked, my voice laced with a bitter irony. "Always an emergency?"

He didn't answer. He was already halfway out the door. "I'll call you, babe!" he shouted, his voice fading.

As the front door clicked shut, I saw it. A glint of metal on the side table. His second phone. The one he used for "emergencies." It vibrated, lighting up the dark room.

A message. From "K.K."

"Arthur, darling, Leo is asking for you. He misses his Daddy. Hurry home. We're waiting."

My stomach lurched. The contents of my stomach threatened to return. It wasn't just a separate life. It was a complete, agonizingly real existence that he had kept hidden, denied, and built on my pain.

Then, a horrifying thought, cold and sharp, pierced through the fog of betrayal. Had I felt sick lately? A little lightheaded? My period was late. No. It couldn't be. Not now. Not like this.

Arthur didn't come home that night. Again.

The next morning, before the sun had even fully risen, I slipped out of the house. I drove to a small, nondescript clinic on the outskirts of town, one known for its discretion. I needed to know. I needed to be sure.

The doctor's face was kind, but her words felt like a punch to the gut. "Congratulations, Ms. Dawson," she said softly. "You're pregnant. About six weeks along."

Pregnant. With Arthur's child. The child he swore he wasn't ready for. The child he had just last night, for the hundredth time, pushed away. The irony was a cruel, suffocating joke.