Chapter 5

Celeste Sparks POV:

The hospital became my sanctuary. For weeks, I healed in quiet solitude, the antiseptic smell a soothing balm compared to the smoke and betrayal. Holden visited, of course, but his visits were brief, punctuated by hurried phone calls and urgent business matters. He'd stand by my bed, offering platitudes, an unread book for company, and then disappear, leaving me with the quiet hum of machines and the lingering scent of his expensive cologne. I always met him with the same placid, empty gaze, leaving him unnerved and ultimately, powerless.

When I was finally discharged, he insisted on taking me to my mother's grave. The irony was not lost on me. He, who had forgotten her death anniversary, now played the dutiful husband, a performance for an audience of one: me. It felt absurd, a parody of care.

At the cemetery, amidst the silent headstones, he knelt, placing a bouquet of lilies on her grave. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Sparks," he murmured, his voice heavy with a performative guilt. "I should have protected her better. I should have been there." He turned to me, his eyes pleading. "Celeste, I promise, from now on, I'll put you first. Always."

I looked at him, then at my mother's name etched in stone. Too little, too late, Holden, I thought, but said nothing. Promises from him were worthless.

That evening, he took me to a Michelin-starred restaurant, one I' d mentioned wanting to try years ago. He had booked the entire place, filling it with candles and soft music. It was a grand, empty gesture, a monument to a love that had never truly existed.

I sat across from him, picking at my food, my face a blank canvas. The effort he put into this charade was pathetic. It elicited no emotion in me, not even pity.

His phone buzzed. Isabelle. The name flashed on the screen, a relentless reminder of his true priorities.

He sighed, a frustrated sound, but answered. "Isabelle, what is it?"

Her voice, shrill and demanding, carried clearly across the quiet restaurant. "Holden! Where are you? It's my birthday dinner! You promised you'd be here!"

He glanced at me, a panicked expression on his face. "Isabelle, I told you I had something important. I'm with Celeste right now."

"Celeste? That pathetic placeholder? Don't tell me you're actually celebrating her!" she shrieked. "You choose her over me? On my birthday?"

He tried to interject, to explain, but she wouldn't let him.

"Go, Holden," I said, my voice calm, cutting through Isabelle's rant. "Go to your birthday girl. She clearly needs you more than I do."

He looked surprised, then relieved. "Are you sure, Celeste? I can stay. I can tell her to back off." His words were hollow, ringing with a falseness that no longer bothered me.

"I'm sure," I replied, a ghost of a smile touching my lips. "Go. She's waiting."

He hesitated, then stood up, giving me a quick, apologetic nod. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise we'll finish this dinner tomorrow."

"Don't bother," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Just go."

He left, almost running, eager to appease his "true love." I watched him go, then calmly summoned a waiter. "Could you please pack this up? And call me a taxi."

Suddenly, his voice boomed from the doorway. "Celeste! Wait! Just... come with me. To Isabelle's party. Just for a bit. Please."

I looked at him, then back at my half-eaten meal. He wanted to parade me in front of her, to prove he still had me, even as he rushed to her side. It was a pathetic display of emotional triangulation, and I was done being his pawn.

But then, a thought struck me. Why not? One last time. One last public display. It would make my departure all the more poignant.

I stood up, my movements slow and deliberate. "Fine, Holden. Lead the way."

His face lit up with a mixture of relief and confusion. He still didn't understand. He still thought I cared.

We arrived at Isabelle's lavish birthday party, held at an exclusive club. The air vibrated with pulsating music, laughter, and the clinking of champagne glasses. Isabelle, dazzling in a red gown, spotted Holden and rushed towards him, throwing her arms around him, her lips brushing his cheek. She completely ignored me, as if I were invisible.

"Holden, you made it!" she purred, pulling him onto the dance floor. "Now, come on, darling! The first dance is ours!"

Holden glanced at me, a fleeting expression of guilt on his face. He wanted me to say no, to give him an excuse.

I just smiled, a cold, detached smile. "Go on, Holden. Dance. It's her birthday."

He looked stunned, then, with a shrug, allowed Isabelle to drag him into the center of the dance floor. I watched them, twirling under the glittering lights, then turned and walked towards the buffet table, a lone figure amidst the glittering crowd. I picked up a glass of champagne, my heart as cold and sparkling as the bubbles within.