By evening, the fiery sunset stretched across the sky, painting it in vibrant shades of red and gold.
The girls in the dance team and I had changed into our performance costumes, holding up the hems of our skirts as we hurried from the dance studio to the backstage area.
Halfway there, I realized something was missing—my prop for the final bow.
“Did I leave it in the dance studio?”
I thought back carefully and decided to head back to look for it.
Rachel asked, “Want me to come with you?”
“No need. It’s not heavy. I can manage on my own.”
I smiled and added, “You go ahead to the backstage and start getting your makeup done. Then coordinate with the stage manager to finalize the order of our stage setup.”
The large multipurpose building was eerily quiet.
Lifting the hem of my ornate gilded dress, I took long strides up the stairs.
But just as I was about to reach the floor where the dance studio was, I stopped in my tracks.
Someone was standing a few steps ahead on the staircase.
The golden-red light of the sunset streamed in through the windows, casting its glow on half of his face.
The rest remained shrouded in shadow, his eyes dark and unfathomable, like whirlpools in the depths of the ocean.
Alec’s voice was low and heavy with an emotion that felt like a storm on the verge of breaking.
“Sierra, what are you doing?”
“None of your damn business. Get lost.”
I brushed past him, taking a step to move upstairs.
But before I could go further, a powerful force gripped my shoulder.
My mind froze for a second, the shock delaying my reaction.
By the time I realized what was happening, my body had already gone weightless.
I was falling backward.
Behind me lay the long flight of stairs, dozens of steps stretching down.
My back hit the hard surface with a thud, and I tumbled down the staircase, one painful roll after another.
Pain engulfed me, sharp and unrelenting, as I landed beside the iron railing. A faint crack echoed from my ankle, the sound of a bone on the verge of breaking.
Alec descended the stairs slowly, step by deliberate step, until he stood beside me.
He looked down at me with those same calm, sorrowful eyes, but when he spoke, his voice was cold and detached.
“Sierra, don’t blame me. You were born with everything—every advantage, every opportunity. Even if you miss this chance, there will always be another path for you to take.
“But Linda… she’s not like you. She’s already done her best, pushed herself as far as she can.”
With those words, he knelt down and gripped my injured ankle.
Before I could process what was happening, he slammed my leg against the iron railing with brutal force.
