10-12
Chapter 8
In her room, Eliza skipped dinner and locked herself in, packing up the last of her things. Greg and Thea thought she was just having a tantrum and kept grumbling outside her door.
“Your temper’s getting worse. It’s just a few paintings. Do you really have to give your sister the cold shoulder
over it?”
“Exactly! You are getting more and more unbearable!”
While the complaints continued, Aiden gently knocked on her door. “Eliza, come on, cheer up. Why don’t you come out and grab a bite?”
She glanced at the door, feeling a heaviness in her heart, though her eyes stayed dry. She had cried so much before that she couldn’t even muster tears now.
Outside, Evan impatiently pulled Aiden away. “Aiden, just let her be. She likes to make a scene. Let’s see how long she can go without eating.”
Eliza let out a quiet laugh.
That would be one day.
Because she was leaving tomorrow.
The next day, she woke up extra early, only to find everyone had already left. Checking her phone, she saw they had taken Margot to the nearby hills for blessings at dawn.
The church there was said to be very powerful, but it required a personal visit before sunrise to hang a wish plaque. No wonder they left so early; it was all for Margot.
On social media, they each posted updates. Every photo and wish plaque was about Margot.
Greg: Wishing Margot peace and everlasting happiness!
Thea: My little darling, may all your wishes come true!
Evan: May Margot live a life of joy and peace!
Aiden didn’t post a photo of Margot, just the words from a wish plaque: Wishing for peace and long–lasting happiness!
In a past life, Aiden had hung many wish plaques on that tree. Though he didn’t usually believe in such things, he visited the church almost every year. Because one of those plaques bore the name ‘Eliza,‘ she always thought she was the one he cared for.
It wasn’t until her deathbed that she realized every wish plaque had Margot’s name on the back. Her years of misguided affection had all been a big joke.
Luckily, life gave her another chance, and this time, she was wide awake. She’s determined not to make the same mistakes.
Her phone chimed with a message.
[Ms. Eliza, welcome to the island. Please head to the airport immediately. Our staff will meet you there. We hope you have a pleasant and worry–free stay.]
She smiled, closed her phone, and placed the prepared disinheritance papers on the table.
Before she left, she paused and took off the necklace around her neck. Aiden had given it to her as a family heirloom after she became his girlfriend. He said the person wearing it would be his wife, the future lady of the Owens family.
But now, she had no desire to be Mrs. Owens.
She placed the heirloom on top of the disinheritance papers and walked out with her suitcase.
1/2
10:13
Chapter 8
As she stepped out, her phone buzzed non–stop. She paused, then checked it.
The screen showed a bunch of missed calls from Greg, Thea, Evan, and Alden. In the group chat, messages tagged her one after another.
[Eliza, Margot had an accident and fell. She’s lost a lot of blood. Come to the hospital now to donate blood
[You have half an hour to get to the hospital!]
If anything happens to Margot, I’ll hold you responsible!]
Eliza paused, then calmly exited the group chat and blocked them all.
From now on, she was no longer Margot’s blood donor, not Greg and Thea’s second daughter, not Evan’s sister, nor Aiden’s fiancée.
She was Eliza, and just Eliza.
She took one last look at the place she had called home for over twenty years, then turned and walked towards the car waiting to take her away.
As the car drove off, a broken SIM card lay discarded on the ground…
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