Chapter 5%
Moming came with a quiet I wasn’t used to. Like the apartment was holding its breath, waiting for something to break. Maybe me.
Zeus stood by the door, looking like the man who owned every damn inch of this building–and everyone inside it. He said flatly. “Savannah, you’re moving to the guest room. Zoraya’s staying here.“8
I opened my mouth, ready to fight. To scream. To tell him I wasn’t some side piece in his damn life.!
But my voice was gone again, swallowed by the weight of all the lies.
So I nodded,}
Packed my things slowly. Tried to hold on to whatever scraps of myself I could find
That guest room wasn’t mine anymore than the master was, it was colder, smaller, darker. And the silence in there felt like a sentence.& Back in the main room, things started disappearing. My shoes from the rack. My clothes from the closet. The little shelf where I kept my makeup and perfumes–vanished.
I found out Zoraya had claimed the master bedroom. My silk sheets, my pillows, the robe Zeus gifted me–she wore she earned iL
it like a trophy, like
The first time I saw the towels in the bathroom, damp and tangled, I wanted to rip them apart. And then I noticed the strands of hair clogging the drain. Mine? Hers? Didn’t matter. It was invasion. Violation.
I caught her scent on her skin one–moming. My favorite perfume–the one I wore to feel alive. Zoraya was bathing in it, laughing like she owned the damn air I breathed.
She started calling Zeus babe in front of me.
And Zeus? He didn’t comect her. Didn’t even blink.
Like I was invisible.
One aftemoon, she smiled at me, sweet as poison.
“I think stress isn’t good for the baby,” she said, her voice dripping with fake concern. “Savannah, maybe take a walk when you feel overwhelmed? Fresh air might help.“B
I wanted to spit, Instead, I swallowed the bile and nodded
Zoraya cooked for Zeus. They ate together, drank together, walked together. I was a ghost in my own home. More like a maid who cleaned up after their happiness, their laughter, their stolen moments. I
Then she started dragging me into their little bubble.
“Can you come to the OB appointment with us?” she asked one day, all innocent eyes and honeyed words.
Zeus added, “It’s important. Savannah needs to bond with the baby now”
I wanted to scream at them both. But instead, I went. And at the clinic, the doctor congratulated Zoraya, all smiles and good news.
She pretended to cry, those crocodile tears dripping down her cheeks, acting like this was some miracle.
I was frozen. Watching them the way Zeus looked at her like she was the world. Like I was a shadow disappearing in the background. Later, back at the apartment, Zeus handed me a bottle of prenatal vitamins 3
“Make sure she takes these on time,” he said, voice low and steady. “She forgets sometimes.”
I accepted the bottle with a bitter smile.
Then I looked him in the eye.
“Will you be happy if I’m gone forever?
His face didn’t change. No flicker of emotion.
“If it’s because of you that you can’t get pregnant with my child and you’re throwing tantrums, please stop it, Savannah,” he said. “Can you just be happy that Zoraya’s pregnant for us? I don’t love her. It’s you I’m still going to marry.“”
I held my breath. His words hit like ice.
Marriage. Love. Hope.
But I was dying inside. And my baby was buried deep in my silence.l
And that night..
Zeus’s annual dinner party.
It wasn’t just a dinner–it was the event. No outsiders. No mistakes. Only trusted allies, inner circle, the kind of men and women who wore blood under their perfume and smiled through secrets. I was always meant to go with him. My name was on the guest list. Had been for years. Standing beside him like I actually belonged.
I waited until the house got quiet.
Zoraya was in the bath. Zeus was downstairs, probably going over security with Nicco or pouring whiskey over ice like the cold bastard he pretended not to be.
I crept into the master closet.
The gown was supposed to be there.
custom black satin dress with a slit up the side. The one he had tailored for me last year after we survived the warehouse bombing. He gave it to me wrapped in silver paper, whispering. “Only death could outshine you in this.”
Zeus’s annual dinner party.
It wasn’t just a dinner–it was the event. No outsiders. No mistakes. Only trusted allies, inner circle, the kind of men and women who wore blood under their perfume and smiled through secrets. I was always meant to go with him. My name was on the guest list Had been for years. Standing beside him like I actually belonged.
I waited until the house got quiet.
Zoraya was in the bath. Zeus was downstairs, probably going over security with Nicco or pouring whiskey over ice like the cold bastard he pretended not to be.
I crept into the master closet.
The gown was supposed to be there,
A custom black satin dress with a slit up the side. The one he had tailored for me last year after we survived the warehouse bombing. He gave it to me wrapped in silver paper, whispering, “Only death could outshine you in this.”
It wasn’t hanging anymore.
What I found instead–crumpled in the back corner–was a crime scene.
My dress was torn to shreds. Like someone took a blade to it. Fabric slashed, straps ripped, one side of the bodice almost shredded down the seam. Red lipstick smeared across the chest–mocking, messy, deliberate.
My heels were gone. My earrings? Snapped in half.3
Not an accident. Not a mistake.
Zoraya did this.
I stormed out, fists clenched, the ruined gown balled up in my a “What the hell is this?”
in my arms. My voice was shaking but
shaking, but I still spoke.
And there she was, Already dressed. Black velvet. Tight, Expensive. Sleeves draped off the shoulders. She looked like a widow at a funeral she planned herself.
Zeus stood behind her, zipping her up like she was fragile. Like he was hers. She turned slowly when she saw me. Smiled. That soft, sugary smile that always came right before the knife!
“Oh no.” she said, her tone low, fake concem curling at the edges. “Did something happen to your dress?”
I didn’t say a word. Just stared.!
Zoraya placed a delicate hand on her chest like she cared. “That’s so unfortunate, I did see one of the maids messing around in the closet earlier. I thought she was trying to help… I didn’t realize she’d ruin it. You should talk to Zeus about getting new staff.”)
She tilted her head, eyes wide with fake innocence. “I’ll bring you takeout, don’t worry. You rest.“Ü
I looked at Zeus. Waiting. Hoping–pathetically–for him to speak. To defend me. To say something that didn’t make me want to burn the whole building down. Instead, he just fixed the cuff on his sleeve,}
“We don’t have time for drama tonight, Say,” he said. “The car’s already waiting.”
Like I was some tantrum he had to manage. Like I wasn’t the woman who bled beside him, kept his secrets, buried his bodies.!
Zomya looped her arm through his like a prize. “Come on, babe. You’ll make us late.”
They walked out the door like I wasn’t even there.
The moment it clicked shut, silence swallowed the apartment}
Lights dim. Kitchen empty. The scent of her perfume lingered like poison in the air. I sat at the counter, staring at the bottle of prenatal witamins he left behind.
I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream, I just… sat there. Until my phone buzzed.
Unknown number
