"Are you sure about this, Mrs. Smith?" the lawyer asked, his voice steady but hesitant. "You've been married for twenty years. And according to the prenup agreement you both signed… you cannot file for divorce unless one of you dies."

I stared at him, blinking. The words echoed like bullets to my chest.

Unless one of you dies.

I let out a bitter laugh, pressing my fingers against my temples. “God, how stupid was I,” I muttered under my breath.

Twenty-five years ago, I was just a girl who thought love could fix anything. Roger and I had been sweethearts—young, wild, deeply in love. He was charming, ambitious, said he’d build a world for us. And I believed him. But I also had dreams of my own. I wanted to be a painter. I had a scholarship abroad. It was the only thing I had ever wanted before him.

So I left. Just for a year. That was the plan.

But halfway through that year, I received a message. An anonymous email. A grainy photo, probably taken from a distance, but I didn’t need clarity to recognize what it was.

Roger. Holding someone else’s hand. Leaning in. Kissing her. My vision blurred. I told myself it could be anything. An old photo. A mistake. A cruel prank.

But denial crumbled as I stared longer. I knew that jacket. I knew the way he tilted his head when he kissed.

It was real. My heart shattered.

I remember calling him immediately, hands trembling so badly I nearly dropped the phone. I could barely speak when he answered.

“Roger?” My voice was raw.

“Isa? What’s wrong?”

“I got a photo.” I swallowed. “Of you… with someone.”

A long silence stretched between us. I heard nothing but the dull thud of my own heartbeat.

And then he exhaled. “Yes.”

Just like that.

No excuse. No panic. No guilt.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, though his tone was detached. “I was lonely, Isabel. You left.”

I pressed my hand to my chest. “You said you’d wait.”

“I tried,” he murmured. “But it was hard. I needed someone.”

“And that makes it okay?” I whispered, crying now. “I trusted you.”

“If only you hadn’t left me…” he said, voice low. “Maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

And I… like the lovesick fool I was, I believed him. I blamed myself—for loving my dream, for wanting something beyond marriage, for choosing art over him.

So I did the unthinkable. I came home. And I married him.

We held a quiet wedding. That was twenty years ago. I gave up everything—my brushes, my canvases, my freedom—because I believed that love required sacrifice.

But the cracks came back. Slowly, quietly, but surely. Roger grew cold, distant. Always busy. Always tired. I told myself he was just stressed. That he still loved me.

I never questioned how his gaze lingered too long when Paula was around. I never questioned how our son, Mateo, adored her—how he kept saying he wished she was his mom. Paula was my sister. She had lost her job. She needed help. I even suggested Roger hire her as HR.

I was the one who let her in.

Into our home.

Into our lives.

Into my marriage.

Yet she betrayed me.

“Mrs. Smith?” the lawyer repeated, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts.

“I heard you,” I said quietly. “Don’t worry. I’ll be dead in a week. File the papers and send them to him once I’m gone.”

I ended the call, my hand trembling.

I was about to lie down when my phone rang again. Mateo. My son.

“Where are you?!” he shouted the second I picked up. “You were supposed to attend Tina’s school event! You left her there, alone and crying!”

“I—what?” I sat up. My voice was weak. “I didn’t know. I was at the hospital. I collapsed last night. I—”

“Hospital?” he scoffed. “You’re just making excuses again. Come home now!”

The line went dead. I dragged myself back home. My head was throbbing. My heart heavier than ever. But the second I stepped into the house, my granddaughter Tina ran up to me—then threw something.

Mud. It splattered on my dress. And then came the toys. A sharp corner hit my arm. Bruised it.

“I hate you!” she screamed. “You left me! Aunt Paula was right! You’re evil! I don’t love you anymore! Get out!”

I stood frozen, blinking.

And then Roger stepped into the room, arms crossed. “See? Even the child sees what you are. Where did you even go last night?”

I looked at him, barely able to breathe. “Where did you go last night?”

His jaw tensed. “What are you saying?”

“Nothing,” I replied, my voice flat. “You just disappoint me.”

I turned, walking toward the kitchen.

“I’m not done talking to you!” he barked.

“I’ll prepare food,” I muttered without stopping.

I was slicing vegetables when I heard Paula’s humming. That familiar tune. The one from the concert.

She leaned against the doorway, grinning. “Oh, sorry. I can’t get the song out of my head. It was amazing, the concert last night. You saw the video, right? Or do you want me to send it to you?”

That was it. I had enough of her sweet facade.

I turned around and threw the bowl of water straight into her smug face.

She gasped, soaked and speechless.

“You disgust me!” I snarled, my voice shaking from the rage I had held in for too long.

“You disgust me!” I snarled, voice trembling with all the fury I had buried for years.

The cold water dripped from her perfectly curled hair and designer blouse, soaking her in the truth I had refused to say out loud for so long.

Paula screamed like I stabbed her, not just splashed her. She staggered back, hands flailing, dramatic as ever. “Roger!” she cried, her voice breaking into practiced sobs. “Help! Help!”

Footsteps came pounding toward us. Roger appeared in the doorway, eyes darting from Paula—drenched and crying—to me, clutching the pitcher with a tight fist.

“What the hell happened?!” he demanded.

“I don’t know!” Paula wailed, tears and water streaming down her face. “I was just singing a song from the band and she just—she just threw water at me! Maybe… maybe she’s mad because of the concert video? You know… the kiss cam? It went viral, right?”

Roger’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “You’re upset about that?”

I said nothing. I was still too stunned that they had the audacity to turn it into a joke.

“Oh, come on, Isa,” Roger said with a scoff. “It was just a stupid kiss cam. Everyone plays along. You’re seriously mad about that?”

“Should I not be mad?” I asked through clenched teeth. “You were wrapped around her like she was your wife.”

Paula snapped. “It wasn’t like that! The camera just caught us. We were just enjoying the show. Stop being so dramatic! You know that I would never do that to you!”

Roger nodded in agreement. “We didn’t even kiss! We pulled away!”

“Yes, you pulled away because you got caught. If not, you still have your arms around her. In front of thousands. And don’t tell me it was nothing when my entire marriage has been filled with ‘nothings’ that I wasn’t allowed to question.”

“You’re overthinking things again,” Roger said, brushing it off with a wave. “You always do this. That’s why no one tells you anything. You twist it all in your head.”

“I’m twisting it?” I whispered.

Just then, Mateo entered the room, his tablet in hand. “What’s going on?”

Paula turned to him quickly and said sweetly, “Your mom’s just mad about the concert.”

Mateo glanced at me with a smirk. “Seriously, Mom? Jealous because you weren’t invited? We went there because the deal was a success, why would you be invited when you weren’t part of the hard work?" Then he scoffed and threw a pile of his laundry into my arms. “Enough with the nonsense. It was just a concert you don’t belong to anyway. Wash that, and don’t miss another event of Tina or you’re staying out of the house.”

Tina, who had followed behind him, looked up at me with a pout. “I don’t want her. It’s Aunt Paula I want.”

She ran to Paula, wrapping her tiny arms around her legs.

“Oh sweetie,” Paula said in a sickeningly sweet tone, patting her head. “Don’t be like that. She’s your grandma.”

“But she hurt you!” Tina argued, her eyes narrowing at me. “She threw water at your face! That’s bad!”

I just stood there, numb.

This was it. This was the final proof I had been replaced. In my own home. In my own family. Erased from their lives without a second thought.

And they weren’t even hiding it anymore.

I didn’t say a word. I didn’t shout or cry. I just turned, slowly, and walked away.

I went into my bedroom and shut the door behind me. Locked it. My chest was heaving. My hands trembling.

I grabbed my suitcase.

There was nothing left to fight for.

One by one, I took the photos off the shelves. Folded the clothes I once bought to look good for Roger. The sketches I once did in secret, trying to revive a dream he killed.

All of it. Gone.

Into the suitcase. Into the trash. Into the past.

I opened a drawer and saw the anniversary gift I had once planned to give him—still wrapped in gold paper, untouched. I took it, smiled bitterly, and dropped it into the bin.

As I zipped the suitcase shut, my phone buzzed. I reached for it, assuming it was the lawyer again.

But the name that flashed on the screen made my heart jolt.

Treston Marquez.

Roger’s old business rival. The man I hadn’t spoken to in years.

I hesitated… then answered.

“Isabel Smith,” came his smooth voice, laced with amusement. “I heard your husband went viral. Or should I say, your ex-husband?”

“What do you want?”

He chuckled and even if I couldn’t see it, I knew he was smirking when he said, “I’ve been waiting for this day, so what do you say about marrying me?”

He chuckled and even if I couldn’t see it, I knew he was smirking when he said, “I’ve been waiting for this day, so what do you say about marrying me?”

I paused. My mouth parted, ready to say no. To tell him this wasn’t the time, that I wasn’t the woman he remembered. But then, something inside me stopped.

Why not? What else did I have left?

I hadn’t even decided where to go after I walked out of this house. There was no plan, no destination—just pain and shame. So maybe this… maybe this was better than disappearing into nothingness.

I leaned back against the wall, clutching the edge of the dresser to steady my breath. And then I smiled.

“Only if you help me with something,” I said, my voice steady now.

“Anything, love,” he replied.

“I want to completely erase my identity,” I whispered. “I want to be dead to them. I want Isabel Smith gone so they never find me again.”

Another short laugh echoed through the speaker. “I can make that happen in days.”

“Good,” I said. “Pick me up in two. I’ll be ready.”

And I hung up. But I didn’t know Roger had been listening by the door.

The moment I turned around, his voice sliced through the air like a whip.

“Who the hell were you talking to?”

I blinked. “What?”

“Two days?” he repeated, stepping into the room. “Pick you up? Who are you talking to, huh? Me? That wasn’t for me, was it? Are you cheating on me? Seriously?”

He lunged for my phone, trying to unlock it.

“What’s your password?” he barked.

“Our anniversary,” I said coolly.

He entered it. His brows furrowed. “It’s not working. Isn’t it June 12?”

I shrugged. “Maybe that was the anniversary you had with Paula.”

His face twisted in rage.

The next thing I knew, pain exploded in my cheek as the phone cracked against my skin. I stumbled backward, tasting blood.

“You bitch!” he shouted. “Tell me who the hell you were talking to! Why are your bags packed?”

“I’m going on a trip,” I said, wiping the blood from my lip.

“A trip?” he laughed bitterly. “Did I allow you to go anywhere? With what money?”

“I saved some. I’ve been selling my paintings.”

“You saved some?” His voice grew louder. “Then give it to me!”

My heart pounded. “No. That’s mine. My hard-earned money.”

He stared at me like I had lost my mind. “Paula wants to travel. She’s been feeling down lately—lost some money in her investments. I said we’ll book something for her.”

“And you want to use my money to take her on a trip?” I snapped. “You said she’s independent. She has her own money.”

“She’s your sister!” he bellowed. “The least you can do is support her. You want to ruin her birthday too?!”

I felt something inside me crack.

“Where are you going?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“To see the aurora borealis,” he said casually.

My stomach dropped.

That was my dream.

I had once told him, long ago, in one of those rare nights when we were still in love, that if I had just one thing left on my bucket list, it would be to see the northern lights.

And now he was handing it to her.

“No,” I whispered. “You’re not using my money for that.”

But Roger didn’t care. He pushed me aside, dug through my drawer, and pulled out the envelope I had hidden.

“Roger, please!” I begged. “That’s all I have!”

He didn’t even glance at me as he stormed out of the room, calling for Mateo.

Minutes later, I followed quietly to the living room. I stood in the hallway and listened.

“You’re sure we can use this?” Paula asked, voice dripping with false concern.

“Of course,” Roger replied. “You’re her sister—this is her being supportive of you! Besides, we’re flying first class. You’ll love it.”

“And her?” Mateo snorted, amusement thick in his voice.

“She can sit in economy if she wants. Or stay. Doesn’t matter.”

Laughter followed. Loud, cruel, victorious. Then came the words that sealed it.

Paula turned to me, her smile sweet and rehearsed. “Oh, there you are. Thank you, Isabel. Really. I know you’re doing this from your heart. You’ve always been so giving.”

I walked up to her. Looked her dead in the eyes.

Then I slapped her. Hard. Across the face. The sound cracked across the room like thunder.

She gasped, stumbling back, holding her cheek. “What the hell?!”

“No,” I said, my voice ice. “I didn’t agree to this. I never agreed to this. I saved that money for me. For my dream. And you—” I turned to Roger, to Mateo, “—none of you had the right.”

Roger’s face twisted with rage. “You slapped her? Are you insane?!”

Mateo stormed toward me, grabbing my arm. “What the hell is wrong with you, Mom? She's your sister!”

“She’s a leech,” I snapped. “A parasite who latched on to this family and turned all of you against me!”

Roger shoved me hard by the shoulder, sending me stumbling back. “Don’t you dare insult her. You’re jealous, that’s what this is!”

“Jealous?” I laughed bitterly. “I gave up everything for this family. And all I got in return is betrayal.”

“Oh please,” Mateo rolled his eyes. “You sit around all day doing nothing. You're just bitter because Dad actually wants to spend time with someone useful.”

“Yeah,” Roger added coldly. “At least Paula knows how to make people feel wanted. Not like you. Always whining, always playing victim.”

“And now what?” Mateo mocked. “You want us to clap for you because you saved a little money selling some ugly paintings?”

Tears burned in my eyes—but I refused to let them fall. “I saved for something I’ve always wanted. And you took it. Again. You took everything.”

“You didn’t even ask,” I whispered to Roger. “You just assumed I’d hand it all over. Like I always have.”

Roger shrugged. “You live here for free. You eat, sleep, breathe because I let you. That money? It’s mine by default.”

“Ungrateful,” Mateo sneered. “You should be thanking us for not kicking you out yet.”

I looked at them—really looked at them. My husband, who once held my hand at the altar. My son, who I carried and raised. My sister, who I sheltered, defended, and loved.

None of them were mine anymore. None of them ever had been.

“Pack our things. Enough being dramatic.”

That was it.

And so I did. Like a maid. Like I always had.

My hands shook as I folded Paula’s blouses, Mateo’s suits, Roger’s favorite coat. I stuffed them all into matching luggage. The kind of luggage they’d never let me use.

After I finished, I headed to the kitchen. I hadn’t eaten all day. My head throbbed. My body ached. Maybe a little food would—

“Here,” Paula said, smiling as she handed me a plate.

I looked down. Dog food. Not literally—but cold, grey slop on a dirty dish. Leftovers mixed together in what looked like mockery. Bits of rice and sauce hardened at the corners. My stomach turned.

I gagged, retching into the sink.

Roger stormed in. “You really don’t know how to be grateful, do you?! Your sister just fed you and this is how you repay her?”

Then, without warning, the plate hit my face.

Grease and sauce dripping from my cheek, I stood frozen in place.

But I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry.

Just two days, I reminded myself.

Two more days and I’d be gone.

Forever.