A Canary's Cage of Gold

The sounds from next door revealed a savage passion I had never known from him.

With me, he was always so gentle, so restrained.

Scarlett's voice, laced with a tearful pout, drifted through the wall.

"Julian, this constellation is mine, and so are you… When you got it tattooed, you said you would remember me forever."

Julian had a constellation tattooed on his lower abdomen. I had always thought he'd gotten it for me.

The moment she spoke, the sounds from their room grew even more frantic.

I bit down hard on my lower lip, the metallic tang of blood filling my mouth.

Suppressing the urge to hammer on their door, I took out my phone and recorded everything.

A wave of nausea churned in my stomach.

I put my phone away and stumbled out of the hotel.

I wandered the streets alone, cold rain lashing my face and stinging my skin with the salt of the sea breeze.

My phone screen lit up. A message from Julian.

"Avalon, things are a bit complicated. I might be very late. Go to sleep, don't wait up."

I tilted my head back, fighting back tears as my vision blurred.

I thought I was the happiest woman in the world.

The truth was a brutal slap in the face.

Somehow, I found my way home.

I walked to the gallery in our living room.

It was filled with abstract sculptures.

For three years, I had believed these were monuments to his love for me.

I once had a fleeting interest in sculpting.

Julian had cleared his entire schedule to learn with me.

He would hold me from behind, his hand guiding mine as we carved, stroke by stroke.

He told me he wanted to capture every piece of me in stone.

I walked toward my favorite piece, an abstract form in the center of the room.

A dreadful suspicion took root in my mind. On a whim, I pushed the heavy sculpture aside.

A hidden compartment lay beneath it.

I opened it, my body trembling.

Inside was a small velvet box.

And nestled within the box was a faded old Polaroid.

The girl in the photo wore an arrogant, flamboyant smile, her eyes holding a look of particular petulance.

It was a young Scarlett.

I held the photo, comparing it to the sculpture before me.

The contours, the expression—it wasn't me. It had never been me.

I was just a living model, a stand-in he used to sculpt a memory of Scarlett.

Just then, the soft click of the front door's fingerprint lock echoed through the house.

Julian was back.

"Why are you still up? Scared to be alone without me?"

He walked toward me, habitually reaching out to stroke my hair.

I couldn't hold it back any longer.

I flinched away from his touch and threw the photo at his chest.

"So it was all a lie? Everything you supposedly built for me over the past three years?"

"You were just looking at her, through me?"

Julian glanced down, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

He bent to pick up the photo, gently wiping an imaginary speck of dust from its surface.

There was no panic, not a shred of guilt at being caught.

"Avalon, the position of Mrs. Blackwood will always be yours."

"Scarlett is just an obsession from my past. I need a little time to handle it."

I scoffed. "Handle it? By 'handling' it in her bed?"

Julian's gaze snapped up, his eyes narrowing. "You followed me?"

He crossed his legs, leaning back casually.

"She has severe borderline personality disorder. I can't just stand by and watch someone die, can I?"

"I'm sure you can understand. You're so compassionate, even with stray animals. This is a human life."

Just then, his phone, which he'd placed on the table, lit up.

A voice message from Scarlett.

Julian didn't hesitate. He played it out loud.

The woman's voice was languid and sated.

"Thank you for remembering I like Cartier. Oh, and I like strawberry macarons. Don't bring the wrong ones next time."

The pink diamond bracelet he had bid a fortune for at the Sotheby's auction last year.

That was for Scarlett, too.

He extended a placating hand toward me.

"The craftsmanship on that bracelet was subpar. I'll have my assistant commission a superior piece for you tomorrow as compensation."

I stood up, my voice shaking with rage.

"Julian, I want a divorce."