Chapter 3 3

A few days later, I found myself adrift in a sea of champagne and superficial smiles at my brother's annual birthday banquet. I wore a simple black dress, a stark contrast to the glittering gowns around me, and found refuge in a shadowy corner.

Then, he arrived.

Liam entered with Sienna on one arm, the rented infant cradled expertly in the other. They were a portrait of idyllic domesticity, and a ripple of envious whispers followed them through the room.

"I never thought Liam Lu would be the first to settle down..."

"After all these years pining for Sienna, he finally got his happy ending. A wife, a baby... talk about winning at life."

I felt the collective gaze of the room, a heavy, suffocating weight. I kept my face a placid mask.

Then, he led her directly to me. It felt like a public execution.

"Clara," Liam's voice boomed with false warmth, silencing the chatter around us. "Come and say hello to your Auntie Sienna. And this, I suppose, will be your new little cousin."

Every eye was on me, waiting for me to crack.

I met Sienna's gaze. Her smile was radiant, a perfect performance of gentle condescension. "Clara, it's so lovely to finally meet you properly," she said, extending a hand. "Liam has told me so much. It's a common mistake for a young girl to confuse gratitude and familial affection with something more. Now that your uncle and I are starting our family, I hope you can find peace and move on. We're planning the wedding for next month. You must be there."

Her words, though softly spoken, were designed to humiliate. I could feel Liam's friends watching, hungry for drama.

"I understand," I said, my voice even. "I was immature. I won't make that mistake again. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness."

"What mistake was that, Clara?" one of the friends chimed in, unable to resist. "The one where you got drunk and declared you'd only ever marry Liam? Or the one where you begged his housekeeper for details about his private life?"

"Give it a rest," another added, his voice dripping with mock concern. "Your Uncle Liam is a family man now. You need to show some respect for his future, and for your late father's good name. Don't let some childish fantasy ruin things for everyone."

Each word was another turn of the screw. I glanced at Liam. He stood by, a silent, approving spectator to my degradation. In his eyes, I was no longer a person he was sworn to protect; I was simply a problem that was finally being solved.

I murmured an excuse and turned to leave, the weight of their judgment pressing down on me.

Later, as I sat alone, Sienna approached me again, her act of contrition continuing. "Are you alright? I know that was difficult."

"I'm fine," I said, my patience worn thin. "My feelings for Liam are over. You've won."

"But Liam told me you were obsessed," she pressed, a strange, calculating look in her eyes. "He said you've been in love with him for years."

"That was before I knew he was in love with you," I said, rising to leave. She grabbed my arm.

"He told you that? That he's in love with me?"

It was at that moment that the fire alarm shrieked. Smoke, thick and acrid, began to pour from an adjoining room. Panic erupted. Before I could process what was happening, Liam was there, his face tight with fear. He shoved Sienna towards the nearest exit, then shot a single, irritated glance back at me.

"What are you waiting for? Get out! Don't cause any more trouble!"

And then he was gone, disappearing into the smoke with her.

The heat was intense. I stumbled, my ankle twisting beneath me, and I fell hard. A blinding, white-hot pain shot up my leg. I lay on the floor, the world dissolving into a blur of smoke and distant screams, my own blood pooling warm and dark beneath me.