Chapter 2Fade to Nothing

A heavy rain began to fall as I arrived at the house my mother had left me.

It was supposed to be my wedding gift, the home where Joey and I would start our lives. Only the two of us knew the passcode.

I stood in the downpour, trying every combination I could think of, my fingers numb and clumsy. Finally, on a whim, I typed in Ailsa’s birthday. The door clicked open.

The entryway was cluttered with Ailsa’s designer shoes. On the main wall, a large wedding portrait of her and Joey had replaced the landscape painting that used to hang there. My mother’s photograph was tucked away in a dusty corner, forgotten.

Ailsa was lounging on the sofa, a smug look on her face, while Joey knelt before her, gently massaging her feet.

The sight of me turned them to stone.

Joey froze, his expression a mixture of shock and guilt.

I didn’t even look at him. My voice was a shard of glass. “Get out.”

Ailsa’s disbelief quickly curdled into a malicious grin. “This is my house now. You’re the one who needs to get lost. Guards! Drag her out of here!”

As two burly men moved toward me, Joey shot to his feet. He kicked them both to the ground, his face dark with fury.

“Don’t you dare touch her!”

His gaze softened as he turned back to me, and he reached out to cup my face. I flinched away as if his touch were acid.

“I said, get out,” I repeated, my voice flat. “Don’t you understand English?”

A shadow passed over his features. “Ailsa loves this house, Elara,” he said, his tone pleading. “I have other properties. You can have any of them. Just… let her have this one, please?”

My stare was glacial. “Hit-and-run. Unlawful occupation of private property. If you don’t leave, I’ll have you both thrown in jail.”

Ailsa laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. “Oh, you poor thing. Don’t you know that Joey already—”

“—Take Miss Gabriel back to the main estate,” Joey cut her off, his voice sharp.

Ailsa’s face fell. As she was escorted out, she deliberately knocked over my mother’s portrait, the frame shattering on the floor. “Oops,” she said with a vicious smile. “Slippery hands.”

The glass splintered, and a gust of wind from the open door caught the photograph, sending it tumbling into a pile of trash by the curb.

Joey sighed, a familiar weariness in his voice. He didn’t even notice the note of indulgence as he made excuses for her. “She’s young, she’s used to getting her way. Don’t mind her.”

I ignored him, bolting out the door and into the rain.

I fell to my knees beside the garbage heap, desperately clawing through the filth, all dignity forgotten.

Joey saw me, my hands covered in grime, clutching the torn, wet pieces of the photograph like they were priceless treasures. A strange ache bloomed in his chest.

He pulled me up from the mud, his voice thick with emotion. “You’re Elara Gabriel. What do you think you look like right now?”

I slapped him again. “You have no right to tell me what to do, Joey,” I sneered.

The look in my eyes seemed to shatter him. “Elara, I can explain everything,” he pleaded. “I’m not going to marry her.”

But his words were cut short by one of his men running up to him, breathless. “Sir, it’s Miss Ailsa! She’s street racing again. We couldn’t stop her!”

Joey’s mouth snapped shut. He looked at me, his face a canvas of regret, and uttered a single phrase: “Wait for me.”

Then he turned and ran, leaving me standing alone in the storm.

The old Joey would have run to me, no matter what.

The new Joey only ever showed me his back.

A bitter smile twisted my lips as the rain washed over my face, mingling with tears I couldn’t stop.

Joey, I’m done waiting for you.