Chapter 2

Ethan's brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of something unreadable in his dark eyes, but he said nothing.

He simply nodded, his attention already returning to the documents on his desk.

I turned and walked away, my back straight. There was no need to tell him I was leaving. He probably wouldn't care anyway.

Back in my room, I looked at the calendar. June 10th. My flight was in ten days.

Ten days to erase ten years.

I closed the curtains, plunging the room into darkness. Then I pulled out a large, empty suitcase from the closet.

One by one, I started packing away the things Ethan had given me over the years. A Tiffany necklace for my sixteenth birthday. A limited-edition art set for my seventeenth. A designer dress he'd picked out for a party.

My chest felt hollow, a dull ache spreading through my limbs. I bit my lip, forcing the tears back. Crying was a luxury I could no longer afford.

At the bottom of a drawer, my fingers brushed against a stack of leather-bound diaries.

I opened the first one. The entry was from ten years ago, written in a child's clumsy script.

"Today, a handsome big brother came to the orphanage. He said his name is Ethan, and he's going to take me home. He held my hand, and it was so warm. I think I finally have a family again."

I flipped through the pages. They were filled with him.

"Ethan taught me how to sketch today. He said I have talent."

"Ethan stood up to the bullies at school for me. He looked so tall and strong."

"Ethan promised he'd come to my high school graduation. He said he'd be the proudest guardian in the world."

The last entry was from a year ago, the day he announced his engagement.

"He told me not to cross the line. But Ethan, you were the one who drew the line, and you're also the one who keeps moving it further and further away from me."

My hands trembled.

With a deep breath, I started ripping the pages out, two or three at a time. The sound of tearing paper was the only noise in the silent room.

I ripped and ripped until my fingers were sore, until the diaries were nothing but a pile of shredded memories.

I stuffed the paper scraps into a garbage bag, tied it shut, and put it in the suitcase. I zipped it up with a final, decisive tug.

The door to my room opened. It was Ethan, followed by Amelia, who was holding his arm.

"Ava, we're back," Amelia said with a bright smile. She was beautiful, radiating a gentle and sophisticated aura that I could never imitate.

She handed me a small, elegant box. "I brought you some strawberry mousse cake from your favorite bakery."

My favorite. I was allergic to strawberries.

I looked at Ethan. He was looking at Amelia, his expression soft. He had forgotten. After ten years, he had forgotten something so basic.

A dull pain throbbed in my chest, but I managed a smile.

"Thank you, Amelia." I took the box.

"You two should catch up," Ethan said, not looking at me. "I have some work to finish."

He turned and walked toward his study, leaving me alone with his fiancée.

The weight of the cake box in my hands felt heavier than a tombstone.