CHAPTER 2: THE SMILE THAT LIED
916 Words
When Ava came back, the music felt louder. Or maybe everything inside her had gone so quiet, the noise outside just assaulted her senses.
She slipped into the ballroom with that same soft smile the one everyone expected from her, the one she’d been wearing all night. No one seemed to notice anything different. Nobody caught the way her fingers curled into her palm, nails pressing hard enough to remind herself she was still here. Still real. Still Ava Collins.
A guest breezed by, champagne in hand. “Where did you go?” he asked, sounding genuinely friendly.
“Just needed some air,” she answered. Her voice sounded smooth, steady and honestly, that surprised her. On the inside, she was still back in that empty hallway, replaying those words over and over.
She won’t exist anymore. You’ll take her place.
Ava searched the room. It wasn’t hard to spot them. Ethan stood in the center, as magnetic as ever. One hand in his pocket, the other holding a drink. People seemed to orbit him drawn in by that easy confidence, that warm smile and those perfect lies.
And next to him? Lila. Laughing, glowing, practically flawless.
Ava’s chest tightened, just for a split second before hardening. She walked toward them, every step calm, measured. By the time she reached them, her smile was flawless.
“Miss me?” she said, voice light.
Ethan turned, his face lit up like he was genuinely glad to see her. “There you are.”
He moved closer, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a gentleness that now felt almost cruel. “You disappeared,” he whispered. “I was about to come look for you.”
Ava held his gaze, searched it. Nothing there. No guilt, no hesitation no sign he’d almost erased her life like a business transaction just minutes ago.
“I was looking for you too,” she said, soft as ever.
For a heartbeat, something flickered in his eyes. Gone just as fast.
Lila looped her arm through Ava’s, leaning in the same way she had hundreds of times before. “We were just talking about you. Tomorrow’s the big day.”
Tomorrow.
Ava smiled. “Of course it is.”
She turned to really look at Lila. Her friend’s expression was pretty much perfect concerned, excited, loving. But now that Ava knew the truth, every detail felt off. Too forced. Too practiced. Too fake.
“You’ve done so much for me,” Ava said gently.
Lila blinked, surprised. “Ava…”
“No, really,” Ava continued, her voice sweet enough to pass for sincere. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
Lila’s grip tightened just a little. Guilt? Fear? Ava almost wanted to laugh almost.
Ethan slipped his arm around Ava’s waist, pulled her closer. “You don’t have to worry about anything anymore,” he promised, voice low. “I’ve taken care of everything.”
Ava’s heart thumped hard. She tilted her head, rested it against his shoulder like nothing had changed.
“I know,” she whispered.
And she did. Now more than ever.
The rest of the night blurred into laughter and lies. Ava danced. Ava smiled. She played her part perfectly. But under every glance, every touch, every word, she watched. She calculated. She remembered.
Ethan glanced at his phone way more than usual. Lila avoided being alone with her. They traded secret looks when they thought nobody was watching.
But Ava watched everything now.
Later, the party thinned out. Guests said their goodbyes. The music softened, the lights dimmed.
Ethan pressed a kiss against her temple. “Get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”
Ava smiled up at him. “I will.”
He hesitated, searching her face for some crack, some doubt, some hint she knew. She gave him nothing. Eventually, he nodded and walked away.
Lila lingered. “You’re okay right?”
Ava met her eyes and held them. For the first time, she saw it clear not just betrayal, but fear. Lila was afraid.
Good.
“I’ve never been better,” Ava answered calmly.
Lila smiled, but her eyes didn’t back it up. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes,” Ava said. “You will.”
When the last footsteps faded and the house finally went quiet, Ava closed her bedroom door. Locked it. Just stood there, silent.
After a moment, she walked to the mirror.
The woman looking back at her wore the same dress, had the same face the same bride everyone expected. But her eyes, her eyes were colder now. Sharper. Almost unrecognizable.
“They think I’m weak,” she whispered.
Her reflection offered nothing back.
“They think I’ll cry… break… disappear quietly.”
She smiled, slow and dangerous. “They’re right about one thing.”
She grabbed her phone.
Hit play.
Ethan’s voice filled the room: “After tomorrow, Ava Collins won’t exist anymore.”
Ava closed her eyes, not with pain, but with focus. When she looked again, there was no trace of hesitation.
“Fine,” she said.
Her fingers flew sending files, opening accounts, digging up documents she'd never bothered to read before.
“If Ava Collins has to disappear…”
She smiled. For real, this time.
“I’ll decide how.”
The screen shone in the dark. Plans assembled. Pieces shifted. And in the hush of her room, the war started. Quiet, but fierce.
- Writer
