Chapter 1

My parents, David and Susan Miller, sat across from me in the sterile living room. Their faces were tight with something that wasn't quite concern.

"Ethan," my mother started, her voice smooth, "Caleb and Olivia Hayes are getting married."

A small, cold stone dropped in my stomach. Olivia.

"We're thrilled, of course," my father added, puffing his chest slightly. "It's a wonderful match for Caleb, for the family."

I said nothing. I couldn't.

My mind flashed back. Months ago. Olivia, her eyes bandaged after the car accident, her hand gripping mine. She only knew me as "E."

I'd sat with her for hours, talking, just being there. I fell for her, hard. And she, I thought, had fallen for "E."

Now, Caleb was marrying her.

My parents knew. They had to know Caleb was obsessed with Olivia, with her family's money and status.

The day Olivia's bandages were due to come off, the day she was supposed to see "E." for the first time, I woke up groggy, my head thick. Drugged.

By the time I was clear-headed, it was too late. Caleb was there. Caleb became "E."

This wasn't a new script. It was just a more painful version of the old one. My life, a resource for Caleb. My birth itself was for him, for his bone marrow when he was a sick child.

I looked at them, at their expectant faces. They wanted me to be happy for Caleb. Or at least, to not cause trouble.

This time, something inside me didn't break. It shifted. This was it. My second chance. Not a rebirth, but a chance to finally cut the rotten cord.

My past with Olivia felt like a dream, a cruel one.

I met her when she was at her most vulnerable, blind and scared after a terrible car accident. I was just a volunteer at the hospital, an arts student with too much time and a need to do something that mattered.

She never saw my face. She only knew my voice, my hand holding hers. "E," she called me.

Her laughter was real then. Her trust, a fragile thing she gave to me.

I cherished it. I cherished her.

Then my parents saw their chance. Olivia Hayes, heiress to a fortune. Perfect for Caleb, their golden boy.

They orchestrated it perfectly. The drugs were just a precaution, ensuring I wouldn't be there when her sight returned. Caleb, coached and ready, stepped into my place.

Olivia, her memory of "E." hazy, her vision new, saw Caleb. He told her he was "E." She believed him.

My attempts to hint at the truth, gentle and hesitant, were twisted by Caleb and my parents. I was jealous. I was trying to sabotage Caleb's happiness.

Olivia, already under Caleb's charm and influenced by my family, started to look at me with suspicion, then disdain.

The warmth she'd shown "E." turned to ice when directed at Ethan.

"That's... great news," I managed, my voice carefully neutral.

My parents exchanged a look. Surprise flickered in my mother's eyes. They expected a fight, or at least sullen silence.

"We knew you'd be sensible, Ethan," my father said, a patronizing edge to his tone.

Sensible. Meaning, out of the way.

My insides churned. I was born for Caleb. A spare part. My achievements, my needs, always an afterthought. Caleb, with his carefully managed "chronic illness," always came first. He was charming, charismatic on the surface. Underneath, he was a black hole of narcissism, possessive and entitled. He saw me as a threat, a rival for any scrap of attention, and now, for Olivia.

I remembered the engagement party. A lavish affair at some high-end New York hotel.

My parents insisted I attend. For appearances.

Olivia, stunning in a silver dress, clung to Caleb's arm. He whispered something in her ear, and she laughed, then her eyes found me across the room.

Her smile vanished.

Later, Caleb made sure she saw me standing alone. He guided her over.

"Ethan," Olivia said, her voice dripping with a coldness that still made my skin crawl. She looped her arm tighter through Caleb's, leaning into him. "Caleb has been so worried about how you're taking our happiness."

She didn't wait for me to speak.

"You need to accept it. I'm going to be your sister-in-law. Stop these pathetic attempts to get my attention. It's unbecoming."

Caleb watched, a smug, concerned look plastered on his face.

Pathetic attempts. That's what my quiet care for her had become in their narrative.

The humiliation was a physical weight, pressing down on me. This was what they did. This was who they were.

"The wedding will be soon," Susan, my mother, continued, pulling me from the memory. "We expect you to be on your best behavior, Ethan. For Caleb's sake."

For Caleb's sake. The family motto.

"Of course," I said. My calmness seemed to unsettle them more than any outburst would have.

"After the wedding," David said, clearing his throat, "we think it would be best if you... took some time away. We've arranged for you to transfer to a university out of state. Give you a chance to reflect."

Reflect on my behavior. Their euphemism for getting rid of me. They'd give me a plane ticket to somewhere I didn't want to go.

It used to be my deepest fear, being cast out. Now, it felt like a lifeline.

A few weeks after the engagement party, the Hayes family hosted a large public charity event.

I was there, another prop for the Miller family's image.

Caleb was schmoozing, Olivia by his side, radiant and oblivious to the storm brewing inside me.

I was standing near the edge of the stage, trying to be invisible, when I heard a creak, then a shout.

A heavy piece of lighting equipment, improperly secured, was toppling. Directly towards me.

Time slowed. I saw Olivia's face, her eyes wide with alarm.

She reacted instantly. She grabbed Caleb, who was a few feet away from me, and yanked him clear.

She didn't even glance my way.

The metal rig crashed down. Pain exploded in my leg, my side. Then, darkness.

I woke up in a hospital bed. The pain was a dull, throbbing ache.

My family was there. Not for me.

They were clustered around Caleb, who had a few theatrical scratches on his arm. He was "in shock," my mother cooed.

Olivia stood beside him, her hand on his shoulder, her face a mask of concern for Caleb.

She glanced at me once. Her expression was pure disdain.

"He just had to ruin the event, didn't he?" I heard her mutter to Caleb.

My father was talking to a doctor, his voice loud. "My son, Caleb, he was very brave, tried to help."

Lying there, listening to their voices, a profound clarity washed over me.

This wasn't just neglect. This was active erasure.

I had to get out. Not for revenge. For survival. For sanity.

This was my second chance. And I was going to take it.

The love I felt for Olivia, the "E." she thought she knew, it was all gone, crushed under the weight of their lies and her coldness.

I would let it go. I had to.