Chapter 2
When Kael found out she had lost her sight, he rushed to her like a madman, his urgency leaving no room for explanation. Without a word to me, he brought her home, making a decision that turned my world upside down.
At first, I had no idea who Kaia was to him. Thinking practically, I suggested she stay at a hotel and hire a caregiver for her needs.
Kael frowned, his objection sharp and immediate. “Skylar, I can’t trust anyone else to look after her. Let Kaia stay here for now.” His voice softened as he added,
“Before she left, she was my… best friend. I promised her I’d always be there for
her.”
Helping a friend shouldn’t have been an issue, but Kael‘ s protectiveness, his tone, and the look in his eyes felt all too peculiar.
The truth unraveled one afternoon while
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Kael had stepped out to buy something. Kaia, with a smile that didn’t quite reach her sightless eyes, approached me.
“Skylar, aren’t you curious about my relationship with Kael?” she asked
casually, her voice laced with something unspoken.
Before I could respond, she answered her own question. “I’m his first love,” she said, her smile widening.
Her words hit me like a blow, but she wasn‘ t finished. “I heard that after we broke up, he dated several girls who looked like me. Tell me, Skylar, even though I can’t see, we must look quite similar, don‘ t we?”
Her words froze me in place. She wasn’t wrong. Our features bore an uncanny resemblance, like shadows of the same
face.
That day, I took her for a walk in the courtyard. A passerby paused to ask if we
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were sisters.
At that moment, the realization struck me, like a sharp, unwelcome truth. After six years of being by his side, I was nothing more than a stand–in.
The questions I had buried deep within suddenly unraveled, one by one. Why did Kael pour so much of himself into Kaia? Why, when I had been bedridden with a high fever, my voice trembling as I called him, he hesitated.
“Skylar, I’m swamped with work. I really can’t take any time off,” he’d said.
Yet now, for Kaia, he had effortlessly requested two months of leave. When his company denied it, he didn’t blink before resigning outright.
The cracks widened further when Kaia
wandered through the house one
afternoon, only to trip over a package I had left by the door. She hit her forehead on the sharp corner of the counter, leaving a red
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welt behind.
Kael’s reaction was immediate and fierce. His eyes filled with panic as he scooped her into his arms, his voice a cold reprimand.
“Skylar! If you can’t keep your things in order, then throw them out! All of it!”
“Take your pile of junk and get out!”
He didn’t even glance my way as he stormed out, holding Kaia close, rushing her to the hospital like she was his world.
He didn’t notice my trembling hand clutching my stomach or how pale I had grown from the sharp pain flaring within me. My stomach problems were back, a relentless reminder of all the times he‘ d
overlooked me.
As his figure disappeared through the doorway, I whispered a quiet promise to myself. “Alright.”
If this was what he wanted, I would grant.
his wish.
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For the days that followed, I let go of everything. I stopped asking, stopped interfering, stopped existing in his orbit. Whatever he requested, I agreed without a second thought.
Ironically, my silence softened him. Kael’s anger melted, replaced by a strange tenderness that came too late.
That night, I finished drafting my resignation letter and sent it to my boss‘ s email. It felt like quietly closing a chapter I no longer wished to be a part of.
Kael walked in, carrying a cup of steaming water. His voice was soft, almost tender.
“Skylar, why have you been staying up so late these days?”
Before I could respond, he wrapped his arms around me from behind. His breath warmed the side of my neck as he pressed gentle kisses into the curve of my shoulder.
“Kaia isn‘ t here tonight,” he murmured, his voice deepening. “We
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could…”
His breathing grew heavier, laced with a desire that no longer moved me.
I shifted away, frowning as I spoke softly,
“I’m not feeling well today.”
The light in his eyes dimmed, and he forced a smile, reaching out to ruffle my hair in that familiar, patronizing way. But I stepped back, my expression blank, my silence louder than any rejection.
His touch, once comforting, now left me feeling repulsed.
A memory surfaced, sharp and unwelcome. Just a week ago, on a stormy night, the thunder had shaken the walls, and Kaia had crept into our room, her voice trembling as she clung to him.
“Kael, I’m scared…”
Without hesitation, he had helped her out of the room, careful not to disturb me. In the living room, his voice had dropped to a
