"This song—you only sing it for me."

The next morning, I was jolted awake by a sharp, searing pain in my throat.

I couldn't speak. Couldn't make a sound.

The opportunity I'd fought so hard for was gone.

I saw every specialist in the city. The best they could do was coax out a thin, ragged whisper that barely qualified as a voice.

After that, I couldn't bring myself to look anyone in the eye. I couldn't face my fans.

I buried myself in Hugh's arms and sobbed. He held me close and said, "Don't be scared, sweetheart. Even if the whole world turns its back on you, I never will. I'll love you for the rest of my life."

Only now did I finally understand.

The strangeness of that night had been deliberate. Every bit of it, planned.

While I stood frozen, I felt a gaze boring into me.

I looked up. Ann.

She was draped against Hugh's chest, watching me with the triumphant eyes of a winner, her stare announcing every ugly truth I'd been too blind to see.

I stepped back instinctively, retreating until my spine pressed flat against the wall.

Nowhere left to go. I turned and fled.

Behind me, I thought I heard Hugh's voice calling out, urgent, almost frantic. But I no longer had the courage to look back.

I ran out into the street and found a hidden corner to curl up in.

My mother's overdue hospital bill was still crumpled in my fist.

Then I remembered. Six years ago, my father had given me a bank card.

I'd never touched the money. I'd kept it locked away for the day everything fell apart—a safety net I prayed I'd never need.

I withdrew the funds and wired the payment to the hospital. Only then did I let myself breathe.

I braced a hand against the wall and stood slowly, then walked with no destination in mind.

Six years with Hugh. Six years of scraping by, drifting from street to street, singing for spare change.

Back then, I'd defied my father's wishes and come back to the States to help Hugh build his business from nothing.

My father was furious. He cut me off financially. Hugh hadn't made a name for himself yet.

So I followed him everywhere. Wherever he went, I went.

But back then, Hugh treated me like I was precious.

No matter how hard things got, he never let me suffer.

Every morning before dawn, he'd race to the factory to fight for whatever work he could get. But before he left, he always made sure there was warm milk and eggs waiting for me.

I never lifted a finger around the house. By the time I woke up, every chore was already done.

The first day I came back to him, he held me tight and swore, solemnly, that he would never let me endure a single hardship.

He kept that promise.

But now, after all those years of struggle, our lives had finally gotten better.

And he was the one who changed.

Under the guise of loving me, he'd destroyed my voice.

All so I could never leave his side.

Fine. Then I would do exactly what he didn't want.

On the way home, I pulled out my phone and booked two plane tickets out of the city.

Six full years of love and devotion, shattered the moment the truth came to light.

I should have realized sooner. I never belonged here.

Back at the apartment, I packed quickly.

Everything Hugh had ever given me, I left behind. I didn't want to owe him a thing.

But my father's jade pendant was gone.

It was the only keepsake he'd left me. I'd always kept it locked in the safe, never once taking it out.

The safe was empty.

I was still tearing through drawers when the hospital called.

My mother's condition had deteriorated rapidly. She'd just been rushed into the emergency room.

My mind went blank. My heart hammered so hard I could feel it in my teeth.

Instinctively, I reached for my phone to call Hugh for help.

But a trending headline caught my eye first.

Just thirty minutes ago, Hugh had publicly proposed to Ann. The wedding was set for next month.

My mother's failing health and the man I loved's betrayal crashed down on me at the same time, and the weight of it was crushing.

I collapsed to the floor.

Like a drowning person, I thrashed and fought for air.

I tried to scream, to wail, but all that came out were broken, mangled sounds.

I clawed at the ground, trying to drag myself upright.

I needed to get to the hospital. I needed to see my mother.

The moment I staggered through the door, I slammed straight into a broad chest.

"Carla, I called your name outside the private room. Why did you ignore me?"

I lifted my head to look at him.

My mind was flooded with grief so enormous it drowned out every thought.

But through the haze, I could see it in his eyes: fury, accusation, and beneath it all, a flicker of fear he couldn't quite hide.

"Ann and I are getting married next month. Her brain cancer has gotten worse. It's her last wish, and I have to give her that."

That line again.

I'd lost count of how many times Hugh had said those words.

Three months ago, right after I lost my voice and the most important opportunity of my life, Hugh had turned around and introduced Ann Swanson.

He funneled every resource he'd pulled through his connections straight to her, single-handedly launching her as the music industry's rising dark horse.

He'd held me that night and said, This girl is pitiful. She has brain cancer. She doesn't have much time left. I just want to help her fulfill her dream.

Later, I caught Hugh and Ann kissing in his car.

His excuse came just as smoothly: Carla, you're the only woman I'll ever love. That kiss meant nothing. She can't handle emotional distress.

I'd laughed, cold and hollow. "So when you have children with her someday, that'll just be helping her fulfill her dream too?"

Hugh's handsome face had twisted. His hands on my shoulders tightened involuntarily, trembling.

"What are you talking about? What's gotten into you?"

I stared at him. I didn't know how to answer.

When I stayed silent, panic crept into his eyes.

Then his gaze drifted past me, landing on the suitcases piled by the bed.

"Why are you packing? Where are you going?"

His voice climbed, raw with agitation.

After a long pause, something shifted in his expression, as though he'd confirmed a suspicion. Those striking eyes filled with contempt.

"Stop this, Carla. You love me too much to actually leave. Besides..." A thin smile. "Your father's jade pendant is still with me."

My eyes went wide.

So it was Hugh. Hugh had taken my father's pendant.

Of course. No one else knew the combination to the safe.

He'd planned ahead, keeping that one piece of leverage to make sure I could never slip out of his grip.

The next day, I drifted to the hospital like a ghost.

My mother's surgery had been a success. She was awake.

I stepped into the room and saw a faint smile resting on her face. She seemed to be in good spirits.

I forced myself to brighten, pasting on a smile as I walked over.

She reached for my hand, her touch gentle.

"My little girl is all grown up. Getting married soon."

I froze. The smile locked on my face.

Then it hit me. She thought I was the one marrying Hugh.

And honestly, shouldn't it have been?

I was Hugh's girlfriend. His real, legitimate girlfriend. But the woman walking down the aisle with him wasn't me.

I couldn't let her worry. So I nodded.

Her smile widened.

"Back then, when you insisted on coming home for that boy, your father acted like he didn't care. But he was terrified. Terrified you'd made up your mind to follow Hugh into a hard life, and terrified you'd never come home again."

"Well, now you two have finally made it. Your father can rest easy."

I squeezed her hand tight and didn't dare look up.

Her shoulders shook violently, and she finally broke down crying.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Dad. Your daughter has failed you."

If I hadn't insisted on coming back six years ago, Dad wouldn't have worried himself sick over me. He wouldn't have ruined his health. And in the end, he wouldn't have taken his own life just so he wouldn't be a burden. Mom wouldn't have had a stroke from the shock.

Now I've gone and lost the only thing Dad left me.

Her mother pulled her into her arms, gently stroking her back. "Sweetheart, this is a good thing. What are you crying for? If Hugh ever treats you badly, you come right back to me. As long as I'm here, you'll always have a home."

Carla held her mother tight and nodded over and over.

After leaving the hospital room, she went to the nurses' station to ask about transferring her mother to another facility.

No matter what, she had to get her mother settled first.

Hugh's call came without warning.

"You're decorating the wedding venue. You know better than anyone what I like and what I don't."

A pause. Then, like bait on a hook:

"If you do a good job, I might consider giving the pendant back."

She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached, swallowing the burn behind her eyes, and agreed.

She arrived at the venue.

She relayed everything to the coordinator. Hugh's preferences. His habits at formal events. His taste in attire. She even had the flowers arranged as pink roses, the kind Hugh always bought for Ann.

She moved through it all like a machine, handling every last detail with mechanical precision.

As long as I get the pendant back, I'll leave this place and never come back.

But when she returned the next morning, nothing was the way she'd arranged it.

The pink roses had been replaced with garden roses, her favorite flower.

The entire menu had been swapped out for dishes with the sweet-and-sour flavors she loved.

Even the dessert had been changed to tiramisu, her absolute weakness.

She was still trying to make sense of it when Hugh's arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Sweetheart, this is a surprise I prepared just for you. Do you like it?"

She didn't respond. She tried to pull free from his embrace, but his arms wouldn't give.

"You're the only woman I've ever loved. Just pretend none of it happened. This is our wedding. Yours and mine. Isn't that what you wanted?"

The words drove straight into the rawest part of her. She struggled harder.

The second she broke free, her palm cracked across his face.

"You're insane." Her voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard every syllable. "Don't you dare taint what I felt for you."

She steadied her breathing. "I did what you asked. When do I get the pendant back?"

Something dark shifted behind his eyes. His hand shot up and closed around her throat.

"So what if you get it back? Look at yourself. Where would you even go without me?" His grip tightened just enough to make a point. "In this entire world, I'm the only one who doesn't find you repulsive. The only one willing to love you."

A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he said it.

Those striking eyes of his were rimmed with red, and for a split second, she found herself staring, caught off guard.

Then she laughed. A cold, hollow sound.

"Stop lying to yourself. The woman you love stopped being me a long time ago."

Hugh froze. Confusion flickered across his sculpted features.

That was when Ann appeared.

"Is this the pendant you've been looking for, Carla?" She held it up, turning it so the light caught the jade. "Hugh gave it to me ages ago."

Carla's head snapped toward her. There it was, right there in Ann's hand: the pendant her father had given her.

Her breathing turned ragged. She lunged forward to grab it.

Ann shoved her back with a force that didn't belong to a woman supposedly dying of brain cancer.

"This is a token of love from Hugh. Why on earth would I just hand it over to you?"

Carla's gaze locked onto Hugh, and for the first time, the man standing before her felt like a complete stranger.

The man she had once been willing to sacrifice everything to love had taken her father's last keepsake and given it away to another woman without a second thought.