Silence & Smoke

Chapter 11: Unhealed

Seinna’s POV

I didn’t go to class today.

Not because I was tired. Not because I was sick. But because everything felt like it was starting to crack open again.

The weight of what I’d done — of what I was doing — pulsed beneath my skin like a second heartbeat. Skipping class felt like the only thing I could control. The only silence I could give myself in a storm that wouldn’t let up.

The memory of Adrian’s face last night haunted me. That stunned look. That glimpse of confusion that bordered on fear. I had wanted him to feel that. I planned for him to feel that. And yet… it stirred something in me I wasn’t ready to name.

But this wasn’t about me. This was about her.

Emma.

People see my silence and think I’ve forgotten. But they don’t know that I carry her with me in everything. In every step I take, in every breath I hold in, in every bit of pain I pass on.

She was more than my best friend. She was the closest thing I had to a sister. She knew me in ways no one else did.

And I wasn’t there when she needed me most.

Not really.

I was miles away — oceans, time zones, and promises too late.

And now, I can’t undo any of it.

Flashback Begins

It had been a month since I left the country for my family’s business expansion. Long days blurred into longer nights — meetings, paperwork, social events I didn’t care about. I was surviving in a whirlwind of responsibilities I never asked for.

Then came the call.

I still remember where I was. In a hotel room in Singapore. Rain was tapping the windows, and my phone lit up with Emma’s name. I answered it with a smile, eager to hear her voice — but her first sound wasn’t a “hello.”

It was a sob.

“Emma?” I sat up quickly. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“S-Sienna… I don’t know what to do…” she cried. Her voice was shaking, brittle like it could fall apart any second.

“Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

There was a pause. A broken silence.

Then she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

My world slowed. “What?”

“I’m pregnant, and… Adrian—he left me.”

I froze, unable to process. “Wait… What do you mean he left?”

“He found out. About the guy. The mistake I made. I didn’t mean to—it just happened, and I thought he wouldn’t—” she choked on her own words.

“You cheated?” The words fell from my mouth before I could catch them. My heart twisted. “Emma… what the hell?”

“I messed up, okay?” she shouted, panic laced in her voice. “I thought—maybe it didn’t mean anything—but he found out. He said he couldn’t look at me the same. He walked away, Sienna. Just like that.”

I felt like I was underwater. “And the baby? Is it…?”

She didn’t answer immediately.

“...It’s not his,” she finally said, so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.

I stood there in stunned silence.

“I didn’t tell him that part. I couldn’t. I was scared he’d hate me even more.” Another sob. “I’m scared, Sienna. My dad—if he finds out I’m pregnant and alone—he’ll destroy me.”

“Emma…” I whispered, hand covering my mouth. “Don’t say that…”

“I just needed you. I needed someone to tell me it’ll be okay. Because it doesn’t feel okay right now.”

My voice shook as I said, “I’m here. I’m always here.”

We talked for another few minutes. Maybe ten. Maybe twenty. I can’t remember clearly. All I know is I kept trying to calm her down, to say anything that might reach her through the panic. But I couldn’t do much from where I was.

I told her to breathe. I told her I’d come home soon. I told her she wasn’t alone.

But none of it was enough.

Flashback continues... a week later

It was Jade who told me. She flew in unexpectedly, found me at the company’s suite.

Her eyes were red when she arrived.

I knew before she said it.

“Emma’s gone.”

I don’t remember how I fell to the ground, but I did. My lungs forgot how to work. The world blurred and I screamed like it would bring her back.

Gone?

What did that even mean?

Dead.

It meant dead.

I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t. But Jade handed me the letter. Emma’s goodbye. Short. Painful. Final.

“She did it last night,” Jade said, voice trembling. “She couldn’t take it anymore.”

I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. Just pain — like a wildfire in my chest.

“She was scared,” Jade whispered. “She didn’t know what to do. And she didn’t tell you everything.”

My eyes met hers. “What do you mean?”

She hesitated.

Then: “Adrian didn’t leave for no reason. Emma cheated. Got pregnant. Lied about it. Adrian found out… and he broke things off. He didn’t yell. Didn’t shame her. He just… left.”

I clenched my fists, tears blinding me. “You’re defending him?”

“No,” Jade said quickly. “I’m telling you the truth. Emma made mistakes. She didn’t want to hurt anyone… but she did. Adrian was hurt too. This wasn’t one-sided.”

“Don’t justify him,” I snapped. “Emma needed him. She was pregnant. He left.”

“She lied to him!” Jade cried. “She lied about the baby, about everything—how was he supposed to stay after that?”

My voice dropped into a bitter whisper. “So it’s her fault?”

“No,” Jade said. “But it wasn’t all his, either.”

I stood up, turning away. Rage boiled in my veins. The grief wasn’t enough — now it had teeth, and it needed someone to bite.

“I’m going back,” I said.

Jade stared at me. “Sienna…”

“No. I’m going back. And he’s going to suffer.”

Her face fell. “You don’t know the full story—”

“I know what I need to,” I hissed. “He’s the reason she gave up. He turned his back on her. I don’t care what she hid or why — she needed him, and he vanished.”

Jade stepped forward. “Revenge won’t bring her back.”

“But it’ll bring me peace.”

Jade’s eyes filled with sadness. “You’re not hearing me. Please—don’t do this.”

But I wasn’t listening.

Because all I could hear was Emma’s voice in that call.

Her sobs. Her fear. Her loneliness.

All I could see was her grave in my mind — a name etched into stone too soon.

Flashback Ends

I snapped back to the present, my throat dry, fists clenched in my lap.

My room was dim. Quiet. The curtains drawn like it could keep the memories out.

But they never stayed out.

I picked up the photo of the three of us — me, Emma, and Jade — smiling like nothing could touch us.

I closed my eyes.

Then whispered, with grief and fury stitched into every syllable:

“He’s going to pay.”

Because grief made me hollow.

But anger gave me purpose.