It was a quiet morning.
Lisa's room was untouched, as if she had only just stepped out. But on the neatly made bed, a set of sealed letters lay stacked — one for Mama, one for Papa, one for Eli... and one without a name, addressed only with trembling handwriting:
"To the one I loved in silence."
Her mother entered Lisa's room first, holding a laundry basket in her arms. Her gaze fell on the letters.
She set the basket down, frowning.
Then, she picked up the letter addressed to her.
And began to read.
⸻
**"Mama,
Thank you for raising me, for giving me warmth and a home when I had nothing. You loved me like your own and I always felt your care — but I also knew, deep down, I never truly belonged.
I'm sorry for the tears I'll cause you, but I can't stay anymore. I'm tired, Mama. So tired. Please forgive me for being selfish. Please forget me if you can.
I love you.
Lisa."**
⸻
Her hands trembled. The letter slipped from her fingers as her legs gave way.
"L-Lisa..." her voice cracked. "Lisa—!"
And then she screamed.
"LISA, MY PRINCESS!!"
The sound was heartbreaking — raw and desperate. It echoed through the vast halls of the mansion, slicing through the morning stillness.
Eli ran from the study, his chest tightening. Their father dropped his cup in the dining room. Alex stormed down from his room, cold composure gone.
"What happened?!"
Lisa's mother sat collapsed on the floor, sobbing, clutching the letter.
"She's gone... She left us..."
Eli snatched the letter, his face paling as he read it.
"No... no, she wouldn't..." His hands shook.
Alex picked up the unnamed letter. The one written for him.
**"To the one I loved in silence,
I never told you the truth, but I loved you for years. Quietly. From afar.
You were cold. Sharp. Distant. But I saw the boy behind the walls, and I fell.
But you never saw me. And that night — if it meant anything to you — I don't know.
I'm sorry I was born too late, too wrong, too unwanted. I'm sorry I'm not her.
Goodbye, Alex."**
Alex's eyes widened. His chest heaved.
"No... Lisa... where did you go?!"
In desperation, Alex pulled out his phone and called the one person he could trust with the truth.
Mia.
⸻
Mia blinked as her phone rang — Alex?
She answered immediately. "Hello?"
"Mia... Lisa's gone."
"What? Gone? What do you mean gone?!"
"She left letters. Disappeared. No one's seen her."
There was a pause on the line, and then Mia said, softly but firmly, "I'll help you find her. No matter what. She doesn't deserve to vanish like this."
In that moment, Mia's own heart cracked.
Because she realized: Lisa never hated her. Lisa never fought. Lisa only ever loved — in silence.