CHAPTER 404: SILENCE

SARAH

I stepped down from the podium, the microphone’s faint buzz still hanging in the air behind me like the last note of a song no one wanted to hear.

The room had gone strange, not silent, but muffled, like someone had wrapped the whole ballroom in cotton. Faces turned toward me, then away. Whispers rippled outward in waves I could feel but not quite hear. Eyes slid past mine, refusing to land.

I didn’t care.

They could look away or whisper. None of them mattered.

I moved through the crowd with my head high, my hand resting protectively over my stomach, a gesture I’d practiced in the mirror until it looked natural. Maternal. Vulnerable.

People parted for me like I was contagious.

Maybe I was.

I’d just detonated a bomb in the middle of their perfect evening, and now they didn’t know whether to pity me or fear me. So they did both, from a distance.

My heart was pounding, but not from nerves. From anticipation.

Because now, Aria would realize she needed me. She’d understand that Kael was exactly what I’d been warning her about all along, a man who hurt people, who lied, who took what he wanted without thinking about the consequences.

And when she did, she’d come to me.

Just like she always had.

I was almost to the exit when I heard it, the slow, deliberate sound of someone clapping.

I turned.

Andrew.

He whistled from a distance, hands coming together in a lazy rhythm, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. The kind of smile that didn’t reach his eyes. The kind that made my skin prickle with unease.

"You actually went through with it," he said, his voice carrying just enough to reach me over the noise. "I have to admit, Sarah, I’m impressed."

I stopped walking. "I didn’t have a choice."

His smile widened slightly. "Didn’t you?"

"Kael was taking her from me," I said, my voice lower now, meant only for him. "He was making her believe she didn’t need me anymore. I had to do something."

Andrew tilted his head, studying me like I was a particularly interesting specimen under glass. "Well, you certainly did something. The question is, are you ready to follow through?"

My stomach tightened. "What do you mean?"

He didn’t answer right away. Just took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes never leaving mine.

"You just declared war, Sarah," he said finally, his tone almost casual. "On Kael. On his reputation. On everything he’s built. You don’t think he’s going to let that go, do you?"

I swallowed. "I can handle Kael."

"Can you?" He set his glass down on a passing server, the sound sharp against the tray.

"Because from where I’m standing, you just made a very powerful enemy. And powerful men have a habit of destroying people who get in their way."

The room felt colder suddenly. Smaller.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

Andrew stepped closer, close enough that I could smell the expensive cologne he wore, see the calculation in his eyes.

"I’m saying," he murmured, "that if you’re going to do this, you need to commit. All the way. No backing out. No second thoughts. Because the moment you hesitate, the moment you show weakness—" He paused, letting the words hang. "—Kael will destroy you. And trust me, he’s very good at it."

My pulse quickened. "I’m not afraid of him."

"Of course." He straightened, his expression shifting back to that easy, dangerous smile. "I’m celebrating tonight. Our little victory. Care to join me?"

I shook my head immediately. "No. I’m not interested."

"Why? You’re looking for Aria?"He chuckled softly. "Of course you do. Always chasing after her, aren’t you?"

I didn’t answer. Didn’t need to.

He waved a hand dismissively. "Go then. But remember what I said, Sarah. You’ve started something you can’t stop now. Whether you like it or not."

I turned and walked away before he could say anything else, my heels clicking against the floor with a confidence I didn’t quite feel.

Because somewhere, beneath the satisfaction of what I’d just done, a small voice whispered that maybe, just maybe, I’d made a mistake.

But I pushed it down.

Buried it deep.

And kept walking.

The parking lot was cold, the air sharp against my flushed skin.

I found my car quickly, slid into the driver’s seat, and just... sat there for a moment.

My hands were shaking.

Not from fear. From adrenaline. From the sheer weight of what I’d just done.

I’d actually done it.

After months of planning, of watching, of waiting for the perfect moment, I’d finally torn them apart.

Kael and Aria.

The perfect couple. The unbreakable bond. The love story everyone whispered about like it was something sacred.

Gone.

Destroyed with a single sentence.

I should have felt victorious. Triumphant. Like I’d finally won after years of being invisible, of standing in her shadow, of loving her from a distance she never noticed.

But instead...

Instead, I just felt hollow.

Empty.

Like I’d swallowed something bitter and now it was sitting in my stomach, refusing to dissolve.

I pressed my hand to my abdomen, feeling the slight swell that wasn’t quite visible yet beneath my dress.

The baby.

The lie.

The weapon I’d used to destroy everything.

It wasn’t Kael’s. I knew that. Deep down, I’d always known.

But it didn’t matter. Because the moment I’d said those words—Kael is the father—it had become real. At least, real enough.

Real enough to break them.

Real enough to force Aria back to me.

I started the car, the engine humming to life beneath me, and pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive home felt longer than it should have. Every red light, every empty street, every shadow passing by my window made my chest tighten a little more.

I kept checking my phone.

No calls.

No texts.

Nothing.

She’ll call, I told myself. She just needs time to process. To understand what happened.

But the silence stretched on, heavy and suffocating.

By the time I got home, my hands were cramping from gripping the steering wheel too tight.

I parked, turned off the engine, and sat in the car for a long moment.

Then I grabbed my phone and went inside.

My apartment felt too quiet.

I didn’t turn on the lights, just moved through the familiar darkness, shedding my coat, kicking off my heels, sinking onto the couch with my phone clutched in my hand.

And I waited.

Minutes turned to hours.

I stared at the screen, willing it to light up with her name. Imagining the conversation we’d have when she finally called.

She’d be crying. Devastated. Lost.

And I’d be there to catch her. To tell her I was sorry, that I never wanted it to happen like this, but she needed to know the truth.

That Kael had used me too. That he was a monster who hurt everyone he touched.

And she’d believe me.

She had to.

Because I was her best friend. Her constant. The only person who’d never left her.

She’d understand.

Eventually.

But the hours passed, and my phone stayed dark.

I opened Instagram, scrolled through her profile.

There was nothing.

I waited again.

But still, no message. No call.

Nothing.

I tried texting her.

Aria, please. We need to talk.

I know you’re hurting. Let me explain.

Please don’t shut me out.

The messages went through, but the read receipts never came.

My chest tightened.

Why isn’t she reaching out?

She should be devastated. She should be calling me, screaming at me, demanding answers. She should need me right now more than ever.

But there was just... silence.

And silence was worse than anything.