Chapter 16 – The Storm Named Lia
The knock on the door was sharp. Erica reached for it, thinking it was Jepoy.
It was Lia.
“What are you doing here?” Erica asked, stiff.
Lia barged in. “I need you to go back to painting. We’re not done.”
“We?”
“You owe me,” Lia spat. “I sold my condo. My jewelry. You think this freedom came cheap?”
“I never asked for any of that.”
“No. You never ask for anything. You just get everything!” Lia’s voice cracked. “I had to take back what I deserved.”
“And what’s that?” Erica’s voice trembled.
“David,” she whispered. “And he only ever wanted you.”
Erica stumbled back.
Lia advanced, fury in her steps. “He loved you. Even when you went blind, even when I stood beside him—he looked through me. Like I was invisible.”
“I didn’t even want him,” Erica said, barely breathing.
“You didn’t have to. You were always chosen.”
Silence slammed into the room like thunder.
Then Jepoy entered from the hallway, eyes sharp. “You need to leave.”
Lia scoffed. “And you are?”
“The one who sees her. Even in the dark.”
Lia’s lip curled in disgust, but she turned on her heel.
As the door slammed, Erica collapsed onto the couch.
Jepoy rushed to her side.
“I didn’t know,” she said.
“I did,” he replied. “But I stayed. Because you’re worth more than anyone’s envy.”
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