Chapter 2 Burned to Ashes
803 Words
Douglas's words hit like ice-cold needles, one after another, piercing straight through Renata's chest.
Renata stood frozen, watching him casually wrap an arm around Carlin's shoulders and lead her away like a protector guarding something precious.
Carlin glanced back once. Her expression was complicated, almost guilty.
The sharp smell of disinfectant filled the hospital air, pressing heavily against Renata's lungs.
Newford Academy of Fine Arts... That school had been the only thing keeping her alive through countless dark, suffocating nights.
When that professor noticed her talent, when the acceptance letter finally landed in her hands, she had actually started to believe that the last three years trapped beside Douglas had not been completely meaningless.
But now, with one careless sentence, Douglas crushed that tiny spark of hope.
Renata had taken the exams herself and contacted the professor herself. That acceptance letter belonged to her. She could not just let it go.
Almost running on instinct alone, Renata stumbled through the hallways until she found the professor's office.
The older man did not look surprised to see her. Only regret lingered in his eyes, along with faint guilt.
"Renata..." he sighed deeply. "Your talent and intuition are among the best I've seen in years, which is why I've been hoping you might become my student."
Hope instantly lit up in her eyes. Her voice trembled slightly. "Then... why?"
The professor spread his hands helplessly. "Kid, I truly wanted to keep you here. But you know exactly who asked for your admission to be canceled. They said the spot was never supposed to belong to you in the first place."
That final sentence completely crushed her.
The color drained from Renata's face so fast even her lips turned pale.
She had nothing left to say.
Renata did not even know how she left the office afterward. She wandered outside for what felt like hours, moving like a puppet with its strings cut loose. Only then did she realize she had nowhere to go.
When she finally returned home, the servants looked at her strangely. No one asked if she was okay.
Numbly, she walked upstairs and pushed open the bedroom door she had lived in for the past three years.
Then she froze.
The room was empty.
Every piece she had spent the last three years creating was gone. Even her paints and brushes had disappeared without a trace.
"You're back?" A low voice sounded behind her.
Renata turned slowly. Douglas stood at the end of the hallway, a cigarette between his fingers. Smoke curled around him, blurring the sharp edges of his face.
"My... paintings?" she asked hoarsely. Her throat was so dry the words barely came out.
Douglas flicked ash from his cigarette. His tone stayed indifferent. "Just a bunch of worthless junk. It cluttered the place, so I burned it."
The words tore straight through her heart.
Renata stared at him, her eyes burning painfully. But after a long silence, she only lowered her head and whispered softly, "Then they're gone."
It did not matter anymore anyway.
Douglas did not catch what she said. He only looked at her quiet, obedient expression and felt irritation rise in his chest.
Then he walked toward her, towering over her coldly. "Now that Carlin's back, this room should obviously be returned to its real owner."
He paused, his gaze shifting toward the small room at the far end of the hallway, the one with the worst lighting in the apartment. It was the maid's room.
"You'll move there."
After saying that, he turned as if he did not even want to look at her anymore.
But the moment he turned away, Renata suddenly laughed softly.
Douglas stopped walking, but did not look back.
Staring at his tall, merciless figure, Renata gathered the last bit of strength she had left and asked quietly, "After I give everything back to her... can I disappear too?"
For a split second, his back stiffened. Then he frowned sharply, anger flashing across his face.
"Stop playing games, Renata. Until you've paid enough for what you've done, you're not going anywhere."
Then he walked away without another glance.
Renata held onto the doorframe as her body slowly slid onto the cold floor.
The maid's room was tiny and suffocatingly dark. There was no real window, only a small vent near the ceiling that barely let any light in.
Curled up on the hard mattress, Renata slowly pulled a crumpled paper from her bag.
The pregnancy test report.
Douglas did not trust her. Carlin did not want her. Her dream was gone. And this baby would soon disappear too.
As for herself, she did not even have the strength left to argue anymore.
Maybe that was fine.
A month, maybe even less. This time, she truly had nothing left to wait for.
- Writer
