The screen showed two figures silhouetted against the glittering sky. Even from the back, they looked perfect together. I noticed
the coat draped over the woman’s shoulders. It was Jack’s.
He turned back to me just then, the very same coat now looking glaringly out of place on him. He seemed to realize it too, fidgeting
with the glasses on his nose.
“Erika, listen, it’s not what you think. Last night was just-”
A sharp, sudden pain lanced through my chest. I shot up from the couch.
12:42
Chapter 1
“You don’t have to explain,” I said, my voice strained. “I trust you.”
12:42
I tried to keep my tone even as I turned and hurried toward the bedroom. But Jack followed, his voice insistent and grating.
“Erika, what is this new game you’re playing? Sophia is like a sister to me! I did that for her as a friend. Can’t you stop listening to
tabloid nonsense?”
Every word he spoke was another dagger in my heart. As I reached the stairs, the pain overwhelmed me, and the world went black.
I collapsed.
Through the fog of my fading consciousness, I thought I heard Jack’s voice, cold and distant.
“Don’t think playing the victim is going to work on me.”
“Get up, Erika.”
“Fine. Stay there. See how long you can keep it up.”
The last thing! heard before slipping into complete darkness was the decisive click of the front door closing.
He had really just left me there.
A small, detached part of my mind silently condemned his callousness. I couldn’t fathom why the original Erika had ever fallen for a man like this. And yet, every time the thought of divorce surfaced, a powerful, deep–seated obsession from her memories would
rise up, sealing my lips shut.
When I finally woke up, the house was empty.
And for some reason, a profound sense of relief washed over me.
I knew this emotional rollercoaster wasn’t normal. I went online and booked an appointment with a psychiatrist, determined to figure out what was wrong with this body.
“Your condition,” the doctor said, peering at me over her glasses, “presents as a severe case of Emotional Transference Syndrome. Given the unique circumstances, I’d recommend you first try to redirect your emotional focus. Find a new anchor–a hobby, a passi- on, anything. But a person can never be your sole pillar of support. If that fails… we may have to consider more intensive treatmen-
ts, like ECT.”
Her words echoed in my mind all the way home.
I pushed open the front door to the sound of cheerful laughter.
3
Sophia’s luggage was already in the entryway, but she herself was comfortably settled on the couch, sharing a slice of cake with Jack and Tim. Jack fed a bite directly to Sophia, and Tim giggled, playfully complaining that his father was showing favoritism.
They looked like the perfect family.
The moment I stepped inside, the laughter died. The smiles vanished.
Tim shot me a cold glare and turned his head away. Jack’s face hardened.
“Well, well,” he said with a sneer. “Done with your fainting act?”
I just nodded, my emotional state still strangely placid. My chest didn’t even hurt. It was an unexpected, welcome reprieve.
Ignoring them, I started walking toward my bedroom.
A sweet voice called out from behind me. “Erika.”
