Eternal Dawn, Fleeting Dusk

Camellia stood in a distant corner, watching through the gap in the dressing room curtains as Valentina and Andres’ entwined figures moved. Her heart twisted in unbearable pain.

Her stomach churned violently, and she could not suppress the urge to dry heave. Her entire body was now convulsing uncontrollably.

Tears streamed down her face, draining all her strength. She collapsed onto the floor, feeling utterly spent.

As she turned to leave, she did not get to see the satisfied smile on Valentina's face inside the dressing room.

Back home, the oppressive silence was suffocating.

Camellia turned on the television, flipping to a random channel. It was broadcasting a segment on Andres' latest art exhibition.

The painting featured a girl in a bright yellow dress running freely through a field. The commentators remarked on how drastically different this piece was from Andres' earlier works.

It no longer exuded a soft, reserved gentleness but instead brimmed with vitality and energy.

Though the girl's face was not visible, her back displayed the painter's tenderness and love for her.

One critic observed sharply, "Even the strands of her flying hair are perfect, like the wind itself favors her."

Online, viewers joked about Andres' newfound spark, saying his marriage with Camellia must have entered a second spring.

Only Camellia knew the truth. That was not her. It was Valentina, or perhaps it was Nelina Dawson, the woman from his dreams.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to suppress the ache in her chest and called her best friend, Penelope Hall.

While waiting for Penelope's arrival, Camellia began sorting through the gifts Andres had given her over the years.

In the first year of their marriage, he noticed her concerns and gave her a diamond bangle.

"I've locked you in for this lifetime. You belong to me now, so don't even think about leaving," he had said.

In their second year, he noticed how much she missed her mother and folded her a jar of wishing stars.

"When you miss your mom, open one. No matter where I am or what time it is, I'll come back to make your wish come true. This life might be long, but I'll always be here with you."

Camellia began unwrapping the stars one by one.

[Plant a little tree.]

[Adopt a corgi.]

[Grow old together.]

…

She picked up her phone, snapped a picture of one of the stars, and sent it to Andres. Her phone screen remained dark. There was no response from him.

Half an hour later, a package arrived. It was the painting Valentina had made for them that day.

However, instead of depicting the two of them sitting side by side, the image showed two entangled figures of Andres and Valentina in bed.

Something cold slid down Camellia's cheek. She raised her hand to wipe it away and realized her face was already soaked with tears.

In a daze, she placed the painting with all of Andres' other works in the studio.

Then, she gathered every gift he had ever given her into a box, carried it into the yard, and set it ablaze.

Later, Penelope would recall the moment she saw Camellia that day. She felt as if Camellia was on the verge of breaking into pieces.

Penelope walked over and held her close without saying a word, letting Camellia lean on her silently.

After a long while, once Camellia calmed down, she made another request.

"Help me arrange a funeral. But Andres must not attend it. Only then, reveal the truth about my 'death' to him."

Camellia handed Penelope an envelope containing evidence of Valentina's relentless provocations over the past few months.

Penelope glanced through it and nodded firmly while suppressing her anger.

Once everything was set, it was already late at night.

That day, Andres quietly slipped into the house at 2 a.m.

Seeing Camellia still awake did not surprise him. He approached her like a child with a prize, his eyes brimming with excitement.

"I knew you'd still be up. I was too busy earlier to check my messages, but look—I'm here to make your wish come true!"

He moved the small tea table by the window to the bed, fetched two bowls, and divided the seafood boil he had brought home into portions.

The wish on the paper star Camellia had sent to Andres earlier in the day was to eat her favorite food with him.

For some reason, Camellia's mind wandered back to the first time they went to that seafood restaurant together.

It might have been Andres' first time eating at a small roadside restaurant.

Before eating, he had wiped the oily table repeatedly with napkins and was clearly uncomfortable. However, he smiled at her with mock innocence when she looked his way, almost playfully.

"Cam, feed me," he had said. "I'll try anything if it makes you happy."

"Andres." Camellia fixed her gaze on his face. "If you could do it all over again, would you still choose this?"

Andres did not think much of her question and assumed she was feeling insecure again. He gently stroked her dark hair and answered with certainty.

"I would. I'd make the same choices every time.

"I'd love you, spoil you, and stay devoted to you for the rest of my life."

The following day, Andres did not leave the house early like he usually did.

He squeezed toothpaste onto Camellia's toothbrush and stood by, watching as she finished washing her face.

"It's extremely windy today. We can't let it ruin my baby's delicate little face," he said with playful affection.

Then, he told her he had a big surprise planned for the next day with an air of mystery.

Before he could finish explaining, Cohen Palmer called a few times, saying there was an issue he could not resolve and needed Andres to come immediately.

Andres gave Camellia an apologetic glance, and when she reassured him that she understood, he left.

Once he was gone, Camellia contacted the team she had hired to confirm every detail for the next day. Then, she drove to Eterna Haven.

She had not visited in several days, and everything felt unfamiliar. She called the Saltsburg Museum, and the curator arrived in person an hour later.

"Cam, are you sure you want to donate all of this to the country for free?"

The curator, Felix Cross, was a fellow apprentice of her mentor.

Camellia nodded without hesitation.

"You can tell me if you're facing any difficulties. Don't try to handle it all on your own," he said with concern.

Camellia remained silent, her gaze fixed on the goddess statue in the center of the room.

With its head bowed and its elegant, serene posture, the statue seemed to smile compassionately. Covered in moss and denied the light of day, it exuded a quiet sorrow toward the world.

Camellia was leaving, but these artifacts should not be buried with her.

"It's nothing, Felix. Don't worry about me," she said softly.

Seeing her unwillingness to elaborate, Felix did not press further. After instructing his assistants to carefully transport the artifacts, he patted her shoulder before leaving.

"Take care of yourself," he said as he departed.

Once again, she was alone. The once vibrant Eterna Haven now felt hollow and empty.

Her phone buzzed with a notification. It was about Valentina's online book signing event for her new illustration collection.

The clickbaity title read: [The Beautiful Artist Who Once Had a Miscarriage for Love.]

Camellia's fingers moved almost involuntarily to click on the link.

The video cut to Valentina showing a scar on her abdomen.

"Back then, he said I was too young, and the pregnancy was on the risky side. Out of concern for me, he stayed by my side for the procedure," Valentina said with a blissful expression.

"It must have been about three years ago when he went to Faren to further his studies…

"He even picked out a name for our lost baby—Cale. He said he hoped she'd return to us one day and live a life full of brilliance and light…"

Camellia's phone slipped from her grasp, crashing to the floor. The screen shattered, forming a spider web of cracks.

Cale?

That was the nickname Andres had given their child after their first night together. He had held her tenderly afterward, murmuring the name as if it were a promise.

Him and Valentina… had a child…

Not to mention that it was three years ago. It had not just been going on for the past three months. Andres had lied to her for three entire years.

Suddenly, Valentina was pulled into the frame as someone's arm draped around her shoulders.

The sound of kissing filled the audio feed. When she reappeared on screen, her lips were swollen, and her cheeks were flushed pink.

She giggled, saying her boyfriend was jealous and insisted they should ‘work harder’ to bring Cale back soon.

Her fans erupted in excitement, flooding the chat with playful teasing, though their blessings were genuine. The illustration book sold well, as though it was part of their celebratory gift.

Camellia did not know when the signing event ended. The last rays of sunlight disappeared from the room, leaving behind a suffocating darkness.

It felt like a giant beast was ready to devour her. She simply sat motionless in her chair with the lights off.

Suddenly, her phone screen lit up and became blindingly bright. It was a video message from Valentina, accompanied by a single line.

"I told you I'd have you under my feet one day."

The video showed two intertwined, bare legs.

Camellia was about to delete it when something caught her eye—the rosary beads she had once given Andres. She had it blessed for him, but now they were wrapped around Valentina's ankle.

The beads that were slightly large for her looped around her ankle twice. The excess length dangled, with a few beads pressed under Valentina's toe.

"They're just rosary beads. If you want them, they're yours," Andres' voice in the video sounded indifferent and dismissive.

Camellia's mind flashed back to the day Andres received the beads.

"Cam, I'll always keep these with me, even in death," he had promised.

The color drained from Camellia's face. She wanted to cry and let out all the pain, but no tears came.

The light in her eyes had faded completely.

Late at night, as the world slept, no one noticed when Eterna Haven went up in roaring flames.

Andres was up early the next morning, preparing for the day.

He had just arrived at Quaint Hotel and finished tidying up when Cohen burst in, pale and clutching at his phone.

"Andres! Something terrible has happened!"

Before Cohen could continue, Andres' phone rang. He held up a finger to silence him and answered the call.

As he listened, his gaze shifted to Cohen's phone, where an image stopped him cold.

The once-familiar pink Cullinan was now charred black, surrounded by the smoldering remains of Eterna Haven. Smoke billowed from the scene, and a stretcher held a body covered by a white sheet nearby.

The voice on the phone interrupted his thoughts.

"Hello, is this Mr. Andres Gardner? This is the Saltsburg Police Department. We regret to inform you of a tragic incident.

"The property under your wife's name, Eterna Haven, caught fire last night. Unfortunately, your wife did not survive. Our condolences."