“Yes, a dance-off.”
At the studio, the teacher was training.
“Let’s see if pregnancy affected your skills.”
After the rehabilitation, I asked about the
dance–off.
<
“Your application is in. It’s in a week. Recover
well. Don’t embarrass me.‘
وو
On the day of the dance–off, my opponent
was Chloe. She came with Ryan. He looked
haggard.
“Samantha!”
His eyes lit up, but Chloe held him tightly.
“Sister, I didn’t expect you here. You haven’t
danced in months. Why are you competing?”
I ignored her.
“Don’t pretend we’re related. I’m not your
sister.”
Chloe was furious. Ryan spoke softly.
“Samantha, don’t be angry. Let’s go home. I
won’t upset you again.”
I laughed.
“You have the nerve. I aborted our child, and
you want to go home?”
“Ryan, I’ll never forgive you!”
He stumbled back, pulling Chloe down. I
く
walked away, ignoring his desperate pleas.
“We’ll have another baby, I didn’t do anything
wrong. Forgive me!”
He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he also
couldn’t let go of Chloe.
The competition began. Chloe performed,
gloating.
“This is mine. You can forget it!”
I saw something was wrong. Before I could
ask, the host announced me as the winner.
Chloe was speechless.
“Impossible! I bribed everyone! How could I
lose?”
A man walked onto the stage, his voice deep
and familiar.
“You think bribing judges will work? I’ll report
this. Everyone will be punished.”
“Chloe, your dance career is over. No agency will hire someone who bribes judges.”
Chloe broke down. The man approached me
and gave me the certificate.
He looked familiar.
“Little beggar, do you want your certificate?”
My childhood memories flashed back. It was
the neighbor who often gave me food–Ethan
Walker.
I won silver. My teacher said,
“If you weren’t pregnant, you’d have won
gold.”
But I was satisfied. Winning silver proved my
ability.
At the airport, Ethan gave me flowers.
“Little beggar, congratulations!”
I thanked him. If he hadn’t exposed Chloe, I
wouldn’t have had a chance.
“Thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t have
competed.”
He smiled.
“Saying thank you isn’t enough. Dinner?”
“Of course. Ten dinners. You fed me so much
<
as a child, let me repay you!”
It was a joke, but he readily accepted.
At the airport, Ryan was waiting with flowers.
He ran to me, sweating.
“Samantha, congratulations!”
I didn’t take the flowers, or look at him. Ethan
asked,
“Don’t you want to talk to him?”
“He’s a stranger. Why bother?”
Ryan stumbled, covering his face, tears
flowing. He’d lost his child and his wife. He
had nothing left.
Ethan took me to my apartment. Chloe’s
parents were already there, the door half-
broken.
“You heartless thing! You stole Chloe’s
award, ruined her career! How could you be
such a vicious sister?”
I showed them the severed ties statement.
“I have nothing to do with you. Don’t bother
Г
me, or I’ll call the police!”
They were speechless. Chloe turned to Ethan.
“Sister, no matter what, you’re our family. Mr.
Walker, tell her! She’s so disrespectful, how
can she be a good daughter–in–law?”
She’d abandoned Ryan for Ethan. But Ethan
called the police.
“Don’t worry, the police are coming. I’ve seen
women like you, so fake. You want to stay in
dance? As long as I’m here, you’re finished!”
Someone was protecting me. Chloe cried. The
police arrived, arresting them. They paid for
the door and my emotional distress.
I thought it was over. Chloe’s parents took it
online. Before I could respond, Ethan posted.
childhood photos of me.
I stared at the photos, shocked. There were
photos of me eating voraciously, wearing thin
clothes in winter, dancing barefoot, and many
other things I’d forgotten, all documented by
Ethan.
“At first it was just fun. Later, I found that
kind of resilience beautiful and charming.”
I didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t resilience;
it was just trying to survive.
The Winters became pariahs. They moved
away.
At my wedding to Ethan, I saw Ryan, a lonely,
broken figure in the shadows, unable to
approach me. He’d lost everything. I’d found
my protector.
