Chapter 4

Olivia clicked to the next entry.

The date was a few weeks after Olivia' s arrival.

My world had already tilted.

"November 5th. Ethan ended it."

Olivia' s voice was steady as she read my raw words.

"Two years. We were engaged for two years. He came over today. Said it wasn' t working. Said it was 'more appropriate' now that Olivia was here. The 'true' Miller heiress."

I saw Ethan shift uncomfortably in his chair.

His eyes darted towards his parents, who looked stoic, unreadable.

The Astors valued lineage above all.

A real Miller was better than an adopted one, no matter how groomed.

"He was so calm. So... practical. Like he was discussing a business merger that had fallen through. Not my heart. Not our future."

"Later, I overheard him on the phone in the study. He didn' t know I was in the library, curled up in the window seat, trying not to break."

" 'Yeah, it' s done,' he was saying. Sounded like he was talking to one of his awful friends. 'Sarah was always a placeholder, you know? Good enough for a while. But Olivia... she' s new money, sure, grew up rough. But at least she' s the real deal. The Miller name, the real bloodline. Dad' s pleased.' "

A gasp went through the room.

Several heads turned to stare at Ethan.

His charming facade was cracking.

Olivia looked at him, her expression unreadable.

"A placeholder, Ethan? Is that what I am too? Just a better version of the 'real deal' ?"

Ethan didn' t answer. He just stared at the screen, his face tight with anger.

"Placeholder. That' s what I was. All this time. My love, my life with him, just a temporary arrangement until something better came along. I feel so stupid. So broken. How could he change so fast? Was it all a lie?"

Mrs. Miller finally spoke, her voice trembling.

"Sarah was always so dramatic. She misunderstood things."

"Did I, Mrs. Miller?" My voice, as a spirit, was silent, but the question hung in the air.

Olivia didn' t even look at her adoptive mother.

She just kept reading, my pain laid bare for everyone to see.

The whispers had stopped.

The condemnation was shifting, finding a new target.

Ethan.