Chapter 33: Replaced
The house was never quiet.
Even when no one spoke.Even when I sat in the corner like a ghost, too hollow to breathe properly.
The silence always held weight.
But this silence?
This silence cracked like thunder.
Because that's when the front door opened.
And hell walked in.
The Past Wears Heels
The first one I saw was tall, blonde, legs like knives and eyes sharper.She didn't knock.She didn't wait to be invited.She walked in like she never left.
Behind her—a brunette with a cigarette between her fingers, leather jacket zipped halfway down, lips curled in a permanent smirk.
And the last?
She didn't say anything.Didn't need to.Her silence hit harder than a slap.Eyes on me.And only me.
I knew who they were.
I didn't need names.Didn't need introductions.
Leo. Adrian. Nico.
Their pasts had faces. And they were here.
The Confrontation
Leo came down the stairs first, barefoot, shirtless, casual. Until he saw her.
"Eva."
Her arms crossed. "That's all you've got to say?"
Adrian followed. "Oh, f—" He stopped mid-word. "Carla?"
She winked at him. "Miss me, baby?"
Then came Nico.And the silence between him and the girl at the door was its own kind of violence.
"Why are you here?" he asked.
She smiled.Cold.Deadly.
"To see who replaced me."
The Fire Spreads
Eva's gaze cut through me like a blade.
Her voice snapped. "So this is her?"
No one answered.
She walked up to me, heels clacking on the floor.
I didn't move.
Not because I was brave.But because I didn't have the energy to care.
She tilted her head. "You look like s—."
Leo growled, "Eva, don't."
Eva smiled at him without taking her eyes off me.
"Why not?" she whispered. "She's not carrying your kid, is she?"
The silence shattered.
Adrian coughed awkwardly. Nico looked away.
Eva's jaw dropped. "Wait… are you f— kidding me?"
Jealousy Has Teeth
Carla rolled her eyes. "I get dumped for this? You knock her up and then keep us out like we were never part of the plan?"
Adrian shrugged. "You left."
Carla stepped in close. "No. You made me leave." Her voice turned venomous. "Because of her."
I didn't speak.
Because there was nothing I could say.
I didn't choose this.
But that didn't matter to them.
To them, I was the reason they were erased.
Nico's Ex Doesn't Speak. She Moves.
She stepped forward—not toward me, but toward Nico.
And whispered something only he could hear.
His jaw tensed. His knuckles cracked.
And then she looked at me.Eyes full of pity.
Pity.
That somehow cut worse than any insult.