The Woman He Discarded

I used to play my saxophone for joy, but for three years, it was a soundtrack to my gilded cage.

My brother, Leo, was gravely ill, and I lived in Ethan Vanderbilt' s high-rise, his secret, his "charity case."

He paid for Leo's life, and in return, I endured his cold disdain, his casual cruelty.

But then, I heard him call me "old news," "desperate," "nothing special" to his friends, mocking the woman who sacrificed everything.

His new lover, Chloe, became the focus of his manufactured kindness, and I was just a "practice" run, a "charity case" to be displayed, then dismissed.