Chapter 7

Eva's Point of View

The house is so quiet it's freaking me out. I've been sitting on this bed for hours, just waiting. Every second feels like it's taking forever. The clock keeps ticking, and it's so loud. It's like it's counting down to something really bad.

Then I hear the door open downstairs. My heart starts beating super fast. Max is home. But I'm not excited. I'm scared out of my mind.

I can hear him walking through the house. Each step makes me more nervous. He's getting closer, but he's not in a hurry. He doesn't call my name or anything. It's like he doesn't even care I'm here.

When he opens the bedroom door, I stand up. My legs are shaking so much I think I might fall. Max walks in like nothing happened, like he wasn't just caught with my sister Sara all over the news. He doesn't even look at me.

"Max," I say quietly, but it's enough to break the silence.

He stops and finally looks at me. His eyes are so cold, it's scary. He doesn't look sorry at all. "What?" he says, sounding really annoyed.

I try to swallow, but my throat feels tight. I'm so angry and hurt, and it's hard to keep it all inside. "Why did you do it?" I ask, my voice shaking.

He just blinks at me, looking even more annoyed. "Do what?"

I step closer, my hands in fists. I'm trying so hard not to lose it. "Don't act like you don't know," I say, getting louder. "The pictures of you and Sara on the internet. You made me look like a total idiot, Max. Why? Why did you have to do it where everyone could see?"

Max just stares at me for a long time. His face is blank, like he doesn't feel anything. "You're making a big deal out of nothing," he says, like my feelings are stupid.

"Nothing?" My voice cracks, and I can feel tears coming, but I try to hold them back. "You were with her with my sister! Everyone saw you. Do you know how much that hurts me?"

He looks at me like I'm some bug he wants to squash. "I don't care how it hurts you."

Those words hit me so hard, I can't breathe for a second. "You don't care?"

He takes a step closer, his eyes cold and mean. "No, I don't care, Eva. What did you think? This marriage," he waves his hand between us, "was never about love. Don't forget your place."

I blink at him, his words stinging like he slapped me. "My place?" I whisper.

Max sighs like he's tired of talking to me. "Yeah. You're my wife, but only because my grandfather made me marry you. Don't think it means anything. You're nothing to me, Eva. You never have been."

My legs feel like jelly, and I sit back down on the bed. His words hurt so much. I've known for a long time that he doesn't love me. I've known he only cares about Sara, but hearing it like this it's too much.

He just watches me, still looking cold. He doesn't say sorry, doesn't feel bad. There's like a wall between us that will never come down. I want to scream at him, to ask why he's being so mean, but I can't. The words are stuck in my throat because I'm trying not to cry.

"How can you say that?" I finally manage to say. "We've been married for one weeks. Don't I mean anything to you?"

Max laughs, but it's not a nice laugh. It's cold and mean. "One weeks of putting up with you. Oke weeks of wishing I was with someone else. You want to know the truth, Eva? Every time I look at you, I see a mistake. A big, annoying mistake."

His words are like knives, cutting me deep. I can feel the tears starting to fall now. "But... but I've tried so hard. I've done everything you wanted. I've been a good wife."

"A good wife?" Max scoffs. "A good wife wouldn't be so clingy. A good wife wouldn't be so needy. You're pathetic, Eva. And I'm tired of pretending you're not."

I stand up, anger mixing with my pain. "I'm pathetic? I'm not the one cheating on my spouse with their sister! What kind of person does that, Max?"

For a second, I see something flash in his eyes. Anger maybe? But then it's gone, replaced by that cold look again. "The kind of person who knows what he wants and takes it. Sara is everything you're not, Eva. She's smart, she's beautiful, she's exciting. You? You're just... there."

I feel like he just punched me in the gut. "How can you be so cruel? I'm your wife!"

"Only on paper," he snaps. "This marriage is a business arrangement, nothing more. And trust me, if I could end it right now, I would."

Then I hear high heels clicking in the hallway, and my heart drops. I know who it is before I see her.

Sara.

She walks in like she owns the place, looking around before she sees me. She smiles, but it's not a nice smile. It's mean and full of hate. She walks closer, swaying her hips.

"Well, isn't this cozy," she says, sounding fake nice. "Max, honey, I thought you were downstairs. But it looks like you're busy."

Max doesn't answer. He doesn't even look at me. He just watches Sara walk in, and I can see the way his eyes light up. He never looks at me like that.

I stand up, my legs shaky. I try to be strong enough to face her. But when she looks at me, I know I can't do it. I'm not strong enough for this.

"Oh, Eva," Sara says, making fun of me as she looks between me and Max. "I hope you're not giving him a hard time. You know how easily he gets annoyed with you."

I want to yell at her, to say something to wipe that smug look off her face, but I can't. I feel like I can't breathe, like the walls are closing in. All I can do is stand there, frozen.

Sara comes closer, smiling more as she looks at me like I'm some sad little animal. "You should be thankful, you know," she says, her voice low and mean. "Max could've been with anyone, but he picked you. For a little while, anyway."

Her words hurt, each one feeling like a slap. "He's my husband," I say weakly, but even I don't believe it anymore.

Sara laughs. It's a cruel, mocking laugh. "Oh, honey. Are you still clinging to that? Let's be real. We both know he doesn't want you. He never did."

She gets even closer, whispering now. "You're just someone who his grandfather choose for him. You are something to keep him busy until he gets what he really wants. And trust me, sweetie, what he really wants is me."

I pull away from her, almost falling back. I can't hold the tears in anymore. The pain, the embarrassment it's too much. Sara's always been mean, but this... this is worse than anything before.

"You're lying," I say, but my voice is shaking. "Max, tell her she's lying."

But Max doesn't say anything. He just stands there, watching us like this is some kind of show.

Sara laughs again. "See? He can't even pretend to defend you. Face it, Eva. You're nothing. You've always been nothing, and you always will be nothing."

I look at Max, begging him with my eyes to say something, to do something. But he just shrugs.

"She's right, Eva," he says, his voice cold. "I don't love you. I never have. Sara is the one I want. She always has been."

Those words break something inside me. I feel like I can't breathe. The room is spinning. I stumble back, hitting the wall.

"How... how could you?" I gasp out. "Both of you? You're my husband, and you're my sister. How could you do this to me?"

Sara walks over to Max, wrapping her arm around him. "Oh, Eva. Did you really think you could keep him? You're so plain, so boring. Max needs someone exciting, someone who can match him. Face it, dear sister. You were never good enough, you are just someone to keep his bed warm for now."

Max pulls Sara close, kissing her right in front of me. When they break apart, he looks at me with cold eyes.

Sara laughs softly, stepping back with a smile like she won something. "See?" she says, sounding all playful, like this is just a game to her. "You're nothing, Eva. And you never will be."

Sara turns on her heel, walking toward the door with a casual sway in her step. Max follows her without a word, his hand brushing lightly against her back as they leave the room together, as if I don’t exist.

I slide down the wall, sitting on the floor. I can't stop crying. Everything hurts. My heart feels like it's being ripped apart.

I sit there on the floor for hours, crying until I have no tears left. The house is quiet again, but now the silence feels like it's crushing me. I've never felt so alone, so unwanted, so... nothing.

I was so stupid to think things could change. Stupid to hope that Max might care, even a little bit. But now I know there's no hope. There never was.

Sara was right. I'm nothing. Nothing to him, and nothing to anyone.

I curl up in a ball, feeling like the truth is crushing me. It's hard to breathe. This is my life now. Being alone, feeling embarrassed, and hurting all the time.

As I lie there, I wonder how I got here. How did my life turn into this nightmare? I remember when I first met Max, how handsome and charming he seemed. I thought I was so lucky. Now I know it was all a lie.

I think about Sara, my own sister. We used to be close when we were kids. What happened to make her hate me so much? Why does she want to hurt me like this?

The tears keep coming, and I can't stop them. I feel so alone, so lost. I don't know what to do or where to go. I'm trapped in this marriage, in this house, with people who don't care if I live or die.

I wish I could just disappear. Maybe then the pain would stop. Maybe then I wouldn't have to see the way Max looks at Sara, or hear the cruel things they say to me.

But I can't disappear. I'm stuck here, in this life I never wanted, with people who treat me like I'm nothing.