Chapter 5:Emily

The night air bit her skin.

Crystal walked without direction, without thought, without anything except the need to move. Her bag bumped against her hip. Her feet carried her down streets she didn't recognize, past houses dark and silent, through a city that didn't know she existed.

She walked for an hour. Maybe two. Time had stopped mattering.

Eventually, her legs gave out.

She sat on a bus stop bench, alone in the dark, and stared at nothing.

What now?

She had no money. No plan. No place to go. She remembered the black card Ethan's assistant had given her a year ago sat in her bag, untouched then, untouched now. She'd rather sleep on the street than use it.

Her phone buzzed.

Emily: You up?

Crystal stared at the screen. Emily. Her only friend. The one person who'd told her not to marry him.

She typed back: I need you

Twenty minutes later, a battered Honda screeched around the corner. Emily jumped out in pajamas, hair wild, eyes scanning.

"Oh my God." She dropped to her knees, grabbed Crystal's cold hands. "What happened?"

Crystal tried to speak. Nothing came out.

Her face crumpled.

Emily pulled her close. Held her while she shook. Held her while the first sob tore through her chest.

"I've got you. You're safe."

Crystal cried until she had nothing left.

Emily's apartment

It was small. Cramped. Everything within arm's reach. Nothing like the marble mansion Crystal had just left.

but it felt like heaven.

Emily wrapped her in a blanket, pushed tea into her hands. Sat across from her on the worn couch.

"Tell me."

Crystal stared at the tea. "Vanessa. Some woman. She was in his room wearing lingerie. Walked out and told me they'd had a long night."

Emily's jaw tightened.

"Then she said I was a replacement. That when his grandmother dies, I'll disappear."

Silence.

"I'm going to kill him."

"Em—"

"I told you." Emily's voice cracked. "I told you not to marry him. Billionaires don't marry girls like us. They use us and throw us away."

"I know."

"Do you? Because you're sitting here broken while he's probably still sleeping in that mansion without a care—"

"Emily."

She stopped.

Crystal looked at her—really looked. "I know. You were right. Okay? You were right."

Emily deflated. Moved to the couch and wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm sorry. I'm not angry at you. I'm angry for you."

"So what now?"

Crystal blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what's the plan? You go back? You divorce him? You disappear and start a new life?" Emily's voice was gentle but firm. "You can't just sit on my couch forever. Not that I'd mind, but—you need a next step."

Crystal was quiet.

Divorce. The word felt huge. Impossible. She'd signed a contract. She had nothing. No money, no job, no future.

But staying meant returning to that mansion. To Savannah's cruelty. To Vanessa's victory. To Ethan's indifference.

To being invisible forever.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know what to do."

Emily studied her for a long moment. Then something shifted in her eyes.

"Crystal. Remember who you are."

Crystal frowned.

"I mean it." Emily grabbed her shoulders. "You've spent years hiding. Hiding your face, your talent, everything that makes you you. And look where it got you."

Crystal pulled away. "Hiding kept me safe."

"Did it?" Emily's voice was gentle but firm. "Because from where I'm sitting, safe looks pretty broken."

Crystal had no answer.

"I've known you since we were kids." Emily's eyes held hers. "I've seen your sketches. Your designs. You're brilliant. And that face you hide behind those ugly glasses?" She smiled slightly. "You're drop dead gorgeous, Crystal. You always have been."

Crystal's throat tightened.

"I work at Laurent Fashion now. Junior assistant. Nothing fancy." Emily took her hands. "But I can get you an interview. Reception. Something to start."

Crystal stared at her.

"I'm not saying it's easy. But maybe it's time to stop hiding. Maybe it's time to become someone." Emily squeezed her hands. "Someone they'll regret ignoring."

The words hung in the air.

Someone they'll regret ignoring.

Crystal thought of Savannah's sneers. Vanessa's victory. Ethan's empty eyes looking right through her.

She thought of the woman in the mirror. The one no one saw.

Her hand touched her necklace.

"Okay," she whispered.

Emily blinked. "Okay?"

Crystal lifted her head. Something in her eyes had changed.

"Okay. I'll try."

Emily grinned.

"That's my girl."