The room was bare. Completely stripped. Even her drawings on the walls were painted over.
Nothing remained. Not a single trace.
He had erased our child.
I slid down the wall, shaking, letting out a fractured scream that echoed until it faded into nothing.
When I could move again, I went to the master bedroom. My head spun, but I clung to a small hope—maybe Damian had kept something hidden: ballet shoes, a photo. Anything.
I froze.
Everything was exactly as I had left it. My clothes hung in the closet. My perfume sat on the dresser. Sheets folded neatly.
Why erase our daughter but preserve me?
I opened drawers, searching blindly. Then I found it: a box of condoms, freshly opened, tucked in the bedside table.
My stomach twisted.
So that was it. That was the reason. He’d preserved this room for their little games—maybe it thrilled him to have his mistress on the same bed we once shared, surrounded by the remnants of my life.
A wave of nausea hit me. I bolted to the bathroom and emptied everything inside me until my stomach was hollow.
My body ached from head to toe. My chest burned. I couldn’t take it any longer. I collapsed onto the cold tiles, shivering, the corners of the room blurring into blackness.
When I finally opened my eyes, sunlight was creeping through the curtains. My head was heavy, every muscle stiff and sore. And somehow… I was lying on the very bed I had shared with him.
Damian stood nearby. He said nothing. Simply watched. Calm, too calm, but there was a glimmer in his eyes I couldn’t place. For a fleeting moment, I thought I saw pity. Perhaps even a trace of care. But I knew better than to trust it.
“Since it’s come to this,” I said, my voice weak as I tried to sit up, “why not just throw out my things? Let Chiara move in. Isn’t that what you both want?” I shivered. “Is this what excites you? Sleeping with her here, in my bed, surrounded by my life?”
His expression shifted instantly. Rage flickered in his eyes. “You know about Chiara?”
“I saw you yesterday… holding her hand. I saw the girl.”
He didn’t even flinch. “Yes. We have a child.”