Secret Vanishing, The Thirty Second Mistress

It was the seventh year of my marriage to Silas Hawthorne.

After his thirty-second mistress showed up at my door, I finally decided to give up on him.

I chose to sign myself over to a top-secret government project and vanish from his world forever.

But then he lost his mind, tearing the world apart just to find me.

"Lyra, I was wrong. Please, just come home," he pleaded.

In the past, a single soft word from him would have made me run back.

Unfortunately for him, this time, he was destined to be disappointed.

......

When Silas's thirty-second mistress arrived, I was in the middle of preparing dinner for him.

The girl in front of me couldn't have been older than twenty. She was young, beautiful, and wearing a triumphant smile.

She glanced at me with pure disdain and said, "So, you're the Mrs. Hawthorne? I'm Summer. I'm Silas's girlfriendDhis real soulmate."

She looked at the apron I was wearing and couldn't help but sneer. "I didn't realize the Hawthornes were too poor to hire a maid. But I guess that's the difference between being loved and being tolerated."

"Silas never lets me step foot in the kitchen. He says the grease and smoke would ruin my skin."

My gaze fell on Summer's pale, delicate hands. Hearing her words, my mind drifted for a split second.

A sharp, stinging pain shot through my finger.

I snapped back to reality to find my finger dripping with blood from a slip of the knife.

Summer saw my distracted state and laughed even harder.

She said in a voice like honey, "They say the one who isn't loved is the true intruder. Silas and I are in love. You're nothing but a legal obligation to him."

As she spoke, she gently placed her hand over her lower stomach.

Her eyes were sparkling with a hidden secret.

I suddenly felt like laughing.

You see, Silas's previous thirty-one mistresses all came to me under the banner of true love.

But after they made their move, Silas had discarded every single one of them without hesitation.

I expected this time to be no different. Yet, as I looked at Summer, a strange sense of unease settled in my chest. It felt like something was spinning out of control.

Seeing no reaction from me, Summer grew agitated. "Lyra! You're just an old woman. Why are you still clinging to Silas like a leech? Don't you realize you're just a burden to him?"

"You have no career, no talent, and you can't even produce an heir!"

She pulled up her chat logs with Silas and shoved the screen in my face.

I stared at the screen, reading their sweet, intimate messages.

My mind went completely blank.

It turned out Silas could be incredibly attentive. He reminded her to eat breakfast and told her to go to bed early.

He shared mundane things with SummerDa funny joke, or a stray cat he saw on the street.

Summer pulled her phone back and walked away in her designer heels.

Ignoring the blood on my hand, I pulled out my own phone.

I looked at my chat history with Silas.

It was always me talking. Silas only ever replied with short, cold phrases like "Okay," "Fine," or "Got it."

I let out a silent, bitter laugh.

I dialed Silas's number.

The call connected almost instantly.

Silas's cold, detached voice came through the line. "Is there something you need?"

Hearing his voice still made my heart ache with a sense of grievance.

I told him about Summer showing up at the house.

There was a sudden hitch in his breathing on the other end. After a long silence, his voice grew urgent.

"Summer is just a kid. I'll talk to her later. Don't you dare do anything to her."

Hearing his words, my heart slowly sank into a cold abyss.

I had known Silas for so many years and loved him for just as long.

How could I not realize that his heart had finally settled on Summer?

I looked at the charred, ruined food in the pan and smiled miserably.

I should have realized it sooner.

My marriage to Silas Hawthorne had officially reached its dead end.

"Lyra, you need to think this through very carefully."

"Once you join Project Genesis, you'll be relocated to the high-security research facility in the Nevada desert. You won't be allowed to disclose your location to anyone."

"Your communications will be strictly monitored. You might not even be able to come home if a family member passes away."

The elderly lead researcher in front of me had tears in his eyes as he spoke. He wiped them away quickly.

Seeing him like this made my heart heavy.

I poured him a glass of warm water.

"You know my parents were veterans," I said firmly. "Giving my skills to this country... I know they would be proud of me."

The researcher looked moved, but he still tried to persuade me. "Because you are a Gold Star family member, we want you to be safe."

"The desert facility involves national secrets. It's dangerous."

"You're still so young..."

"If you can't handle the isolation, there's no turning back."

I knew what they were thinking. In their eyes, I was too young for this kind of sacrifice.

They thought I should have a brighter, easier life. They feared I couldn't handle the hardship.

But looking at the old professor's thin, weary frame, I felt a pang of sadness.

If they could give their lives to the country, why couldn't I?

I interrupted him gently but firmly. "Professor, I've considered everything you mentioned."

"I have no parents, no children, and no friends. I have nothing left to lose."

As I said that, Silas's face flashed in my mind.

My chest tightened with pain.

Perhaps because I was about to leave forever, my mind was flooded with our old, beautiful memories.

But every time I felt like forgiving him, I remembered those thirty-two mistresses.

My eyes stung. I forced back the bitterness. "I'm also getting a divorce. The love died a long time ago."

"I'd rather pour my soul into science than stay here and rot in self-pity."

Seeing my resolve, the professor sighed. He pulled a classified file from his worn briefcase.

His eyes were wet as he watched me sign my name on the non-disclosure agreement.

"Welcome to Project Genesis, Lyra."

"Here is your relocation stipend. The government takes care of its own."

I wanted to leave with the professor right then, but he gave me two months.

He told me to say my goodbyes properly.

I watched him walk away with a bitter smile.

I realized I had always been alone in this city.

During my seven years of marriage, I revolved entirely around Silas. I had let my friends drift away.

Two months was too much time.

"What are you doing?"

A familiar voice startled me.

It was Silas.

I was surprised to see him at the front door.

I couldn't remember when it started, but he rarely came home anymore.

I used to have to beg him to come back, and he would only show up as a favor to me.

Looking at his handsome face, I felt a strange sense of detachment.

I decided not to tell him about my departure.

I was leaving in two months anyway. We would be strangers soon. There was no need to explain myself.

Besides, it wasn't like he cared.

Silas didn't get an answer, and his voice turned sharp. "What did you say to Summer today?"

I froze.

Then, Silas's low roar followed. "Summer is just a kid! She's innocent!"

"Can't you stop being so hard on her?"

Hearing his accusations, I let out a weak laugh.

In all our years of marriage, this was the first time he had truly lost his temper over a mistress.

The protective tone in his voice was undeniable.

I glanced at the wedding photo on the wall.

The two people in the photo were smiling happily. Their eyes were full of love for one another.

Back then, we really did love each other.

But our relationship had been eroded by years of neglect and betrayal.

When we were first in love, I used to ask him if we'd succumb to the seven-year itch.

Every time, Silas would pull me close and say, "Never. we grew up together. We've already survived several seven-year cycles."

I got lost in his warm embrace.

I forgot that marriage is nothing like a childhood romance.

"Lyra!"

Silas's voice exploded in my ear like thunder.

I snapped back to the present.

Looking at his furious face, I just smiled.

"I didn't say anything. It was your little girlfriend who came here."

"She came to brag about how much you love her. She called me a burden and said I was worse than a maid."

"She told me that the one who isn't loved is the real intruder..."

Before I could finish, Silas interrupted me with a frown.

His gaze was icy. "That's enough. Summer just has a bit of a temper."

"She doesn't have a mean bone in her body. You're just being sensitive."

"Stop looking for trouble with her. Grow up for once."

Looking at his impatient expression, a wave of grievance washed over me.

But then his phone rang. The moment he saw the caller ID, his features softened instantly.

He answered the call. Hearing the high-pitched, sweet voice on the other end, his smile became incredibly tender.

As I watched him walk away, I collapsed onto the floor, trembling.

On the coffee table, the words "Confidential Agreement" were printed in bold black ink.

Silas hadn't even bothered to ask what it was.

He wasn't always like this...

Silas and I were childhood sweethearts.

My parents were both in the military.

When I was very young, I was kidnapped by a group of extremists.

They used me to blackmail my parents, trying to force them to betray their country.

I was locked in a tiny, pitch-black room while my parents negotiated with the kidnappers outside.

I pressed my ear against the cold door, desperate to hear their voices.

The last things I heard were a few gunshots.

Then, the world went silent.

No matter how loud I screamed for my mom and dad, they never answered.

I was terrified.

After what felt like forever, the door finally swung open.

Silas's panicked, tear-streaked face appeared in front of me.

Then came the police. I searched the crowd for my parents, but they weren't there.

I eventually learned that they had sacrificed themselves to take down the extremists and save me.

I became an orphan. I had no home left.

The Hawthornes took me in.

I grew up in their house, but the trauma of the kidnapping and my parents' death stayed with me.

I was terrified of the dark. I was terrified of being alone.

But I didn't trust anyoneDexcept Silas. On the day I was rescued, Silas was the one who appeared with the sunlight.

During the days I locked myself away, Silas stayed by my side. He held my hand and sang lullabies to me.

Whenever I woke up from a nightmare, the first thing I saw was his worried face.

Under his care, I slowly stepped out of the shadows.

Even though I was still scared of the dark, I could sleep peacefully as long as I heard his voice.

So, Silas called me every single night to lull me to sleep.

Even when the nightmares returned, his gentle voice was always there on the other end of the line.

When I was fifteen, a boy from another school stopped me and handed me a pink envelope.

I stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do.

Silas suddenly appeared, handed the letter back, and rejected the boy on my behalf.

The boy snapped, "Who do you think you are? What right do you have to speak for her just because she lives in your house?"

Silas just smiled calmly.

He took my hand and said firmly, "I'm her family. I'm her boyfriend. Do I have the right now?"

Our past was so sweet, which made seeing him with Summer so much more painful.

I used to think Silas was my cure.

Now, he was the poison in my veins.

I calmly deleted our photos and began packing away the gifts he had given me.

Silas used to give me gifts all the time. Some were expensive, others were cheap.

The cheapest was a withered flower crown.

He had made it for me on the day we decided to get married.

I had kept it perfectly for seven years.

Seeing it so brittle and decayed now felt like a metaphor for our marriage.

As I was packing, Silas's parents appeared at the door.

I felt a flash of shame. They had always treated me like their own daughter.

I was planning to leave without even telling them how much it would hurt.

Seeing me packing, his mother looked surprised. "Lyra, what are you doing? Did that brat Silas upset you again?"

Looking into her kind eyes, I wanted to throw myself into her arms and cry.

But I held it back.

"I'm just checking for mold," I said calmly.

They were carrying several large shopping bags. "Mom, Dad, why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have picked you up."

The Hawthornes looked at each other with complicated expressions.

His mother wanted to say something, but his father pulled her back and shook his head.

She gave me a strained smile. "We just missed you. We just got off the plane and we're tired. We're going to rest."

They practically fled upstairs.

I washed a bowl of cherries and followed them up with the suitcase they had left behind.

I heard his mother complaining to his father through the door. "Why didn't you let me tell her?"

His father sighed. "Lyra loves him so much. How is she going to accept a divorce?"

His mother's voice turned sharp. "But Summer is pregnant with Silas's baby! You can't let that child be born out of wedlock!"

"We've been good enough to Lyra for twenty years."

"She's barren. Someone has to give Silas an heir!"

"Silas loves Summer anyway. Lyra needs to be smart and just sign the papers!"

I froze in the hallway.

It felt like an eternity before I realized I was covered in tears.

I tried to pull the suitcase away, but the latch broke, spilling a mountain of baby clothes and toys onto the floor.

I sat on the hotel bed for a long time, hesitating.

Finally, I called the professor. Hearing his gentle voice, my throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

I swallowed my tears and tried to sound normal. "I've settled everything here. I can leave early."

A week later, I went to the hospital to pick up my physical exam results.

In that entire week, neither the Hawthornes nor Silas had tried to contact me.

It hurt, but I knew the truth.

Their world now revolved around Summer and her baby. I was just a ghost in their house.

At the hospital entrance, I ran into Summer.

She was wearing an expensive dress and sparkling earrings.

She saw me and her eyes widened. I tried to walk past her, but she called out.

"Mrs. Hawthorne, what are you doing at the hospital?" she asked maliciously.

She patted her still-flat stomach and looked at my belly.

She smirked. "Are you here for a check-up? Honestly, if you're barren, you're barren. No amount of testing will change that."

"Are you getting desperate?"

"A marriage without love is just a prison, Lyra. Give it up."

I was losing my patience with her. I tried to move away, but she grabbed my arm.

Her grip was surprisingly strong, and it hurt.

I instinctively shoved her hand off me.

Summer let out a dramatic cry and collapsed onto the ground. She clutched her stomach, sobbing.

"I know you hate me, but the baby is innocent!" she wailed.

"Silas and I love each other. Can't you just let us be happy?"

I stood there in shock at her performance. Then, a roar came from behind me.

"Lyra! What the hell are you doing? Why did you lay a hand on her?"

I turned to see Silas, his face red with rage.

He rushed over and carefully helped Summer up.

Summer sobbed into his chest. "I'm so scared... She blocked my way and called me names. She said she was going to force me to get rid of the baby. Please don't let her hurt my child. I'll leave, I'll stay away from you if it means the baby is safe!"

Silas was livid.

He raised his hand and delivered a stinging slap across my face.

"How did you become so vicious?" he hissed. "If you have a problem, take it out on me! Summer is innocent."

I held my burning cheek, and something inside me finally snapped and died.

The scene ended when Summer faked a faint. Watching Silas carry her away in a panic was the most pathetic thing I'd ever seen.

I called my lawyer and told him to deliver the divorce papers to Silas after I left.

Since we hated each other now, it was time to let go.

Feeling strangely light, I walked into the office of the doctor who handled government physicals.

The doctor looked at me with a complicated expression.

After a long silence, he said, "Lyra, you're pregnant."