Chapter 6

Laura stood frozen. "What did you just say?" "You must have done something!" Regina sobbed, voice trembling. "Only you touched the piano during the tuning." "It wasn't me," Laura commented coldly. "I never had the piano tuned, nor did anyone force you to play." Regina clutched Dexter's sleeve, her eyes glistening with tears. "Dexter, are you just going to stand there and let her bully me like this?" Dexter frowned. "It's Laura's birthday today. It's just a cut, so let's not make a scene." "No!" Regina's voice suddenly rose, sharp and piercing. "You're in your alternate personality now! You said I'm the one you love most!" She pointed at Laura, her voice sharp and venomous. "I want her to know what it feels like to have her hand sliced open." Dexter hesitated, but after a brief silence, he gave in. "...Hold her down." Two bodyguards immediately stepped forward, grabbing Laura's arms and forcing her toward the piano. "Dexter! Are you insane?" Laura struggled violently, her voice shaking with disbelief. The blade inside the piano key shimmered under the lights as the guards forced her hand downward. A searing pain shot through her entire body as Laura's fingertips were sliced open, skin torn and bleeding. Crimson streaks spilled across the black and white piano keys. Dexter turned to Regina. "Are you satisfied now?" Regina pouted, then shook her head. "Not even close." She looked around with disdain. "I want this whole birthday party ruined! Watching you celebrate with another woman—do you know how jealous I was?" He closed his eyes for a second. Then, without a word, he gave the signal. The bodyguards moved instantly. The champagne tower crashed to the floor. Cake splattered across the carpet. The photos were torn, and the decorations were ripped down. In minutes, the once-luxurious ballroom was reduced to a wreck. Only then did Regina smile, linking her arm through Dexter's. "Let's go. I need to get my hand bandaged at the hospital." Dexter paused just long enough to glance at Laura, but he said nothing. Then, he turned and walked out with Regina. Laura stood there, her hands covered in blood, the pain burning through her nerves. Around her, murmurs of pity and outrage grew louder. "Poor girl…" "Mr. Gardner went too far." "This isn't some dissociative identity disorder… He just fell for someone else…" Laura stared at the wreckage of what was supposed to be her birthday party. Then, she let out a quiet, bitter laugh. Of course, he had fallen out of love. The vows Dexter had made at 17 years old, the promises he had whispered during sleepless nights when she was ill—none of them mattered now. He had forgotten all of it. … Laura went to the hospital alone to treat her wounds. The doctor frowned while bandaging her hand. "How did this happen?" Laura felt a sharp stab in her chest, but she stayed calm. "I cut myself by accident." … When she got home, she began packing her things. One by one, she pulled out Dexter's button-down shirts, the silk ties in the drawer, the little teddy bear he once gave her for Valentine's Day. Every piece of him she could find, she tossed into the trash. Then, a voice came from behind her. "Laura? What are you doing?" Dexter was standing at the door. Laura didn't even glance back as she kept packing. "You don't live here anymore. These things are taking up space, so I'm throwing them out." He strode toward her, grabbing her wrist. "I told you—I'll be cured one day. Just wait for me a little longer." She pulled her hand free and turned to leave, but he called out toward the hallway. "Bring them in." A group of bodyguards filed in, carrying box after box—one hundred in total. They stacked them from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Each box was delicately and pristinely wrapped with care. Dexter said softly, "Laura, these are your birthday gifts. One for every year of your life." He opened one of the boxes. Inside was a rare vinyl record—something she had casually mentioned wanting back when she was eighteen. Another box held an antique brooch she had once paused to admire in a magazine. "Why did you prepare all this? Is it out of guilt?" she asked calmly. Dexter froze. That wasn't the reaction he had expected. "I know you've been through a lot lately…" he explained, reaching for her face. However, Laura flinched away before he could touch her. "But none of it was your fault or mine. We were forced into this, weren't we? I want you to know, the person I love has always been you. The one I want to grow old with—it's always been you." Laura stared at the man who once made her heart race, but now, she felt empty. He was no longer the same man. All those promises of forever—meant to last a lifetime—had long since disappeared, carried away like dust in the wind.