The Canary's Awakening

My life was a fairytale woven from silk and silver spoons. As a child, I was my father and brother's cherished doll; as a woman, I became Rich Blackwood's treasured possession.
I was a beautiful ornament drifting through my twenties without a care, surrounded by couture and curated perfection. Nothing more was expected of me.
I never questioned this life—until my estranged mother returned from Europe with my sister, Aurora.
Aurora was everything I wasn’t: brilliant, poised, a force of nature. She dove into the family business, planning its future with Rich in conversations full of ambition I couldn’t grasp.
One evening, drawn by a painful curiosity, I crept into the corporate headquarters and overheard them.
A woman’s sharp voice asked, “Still here, Mr. Blackwood? Won’t the little lady at home get jealous?”
Rich’s reply was cold and dismissive: “Jealous? What could she do? Without me, Katie is nothing—a pretty canary in the gilded cage I built. A broken, useless thing.”
My world shattered. Then I saw my brother, Ethan, standing beside him, his expression cold and detached.
“Katie has always been spoiled,” he said without warmth. “A little hardship will do her good.”

1
The morning sun filtered through my silk curtains, but it was Mrs. Gable, our housekeeper, who gently woke me. I drifted into the master bathroom where a steaming bath already awaited, the water infused with lavender oils. Even my toothbrush was prepared, a perfect ribbon of mint paste squeezed onto the bristles.
"Call if you need anything, Miss Katie," Mrs. Gable’s voice came softly from outside the door.
After my bath, I sat at my vanity, applying a light, dewy makeup. Mrs. Gable then escorted me to the breakfast solarium. Rich was already there, impeccably dressed, his eyes fixed on a tablet. He didn't even look up as I sat down.
"I won't be back tonight," he announced to the air. "Things are busy at the office."
I bit my lip, a familiar knot of resentment tightening in my chest. "Busy at the office, or busy with Aurora? You're with her constantly these days."
His fingers stilled on the screen. Rich finally lifted his gaze, his gray eyes cold and sharp. "She is your sister, Katie. And a brilliant business partner. Aurora is not someone whose name you get to drag through the mud with petty gossip."
The rebuke stung like a slap. Tears pricked my eyes. "Am I wrong? She's been back for two months, and you've spent more time with her than with me. Have you been home on time even once in those two months?"
A flash of pure annoyance crossed his face. He dabbed his lips with a linen napkin, the gesture precise and final. "This is childish."
He rose, slipped on his tailored coat, and left without another word.
My appetite vanished. I fled back to my room and let the tears come, a storm of frustration that ruined my carefully applied makeup.
"Am I not beautiful anymore, Mrs. Gable?" I asked her later, my voice thick with misery. "Why does he treat me like this?"
She hesitated, her kind eyes filled with a pity I hated. "You're the most beautiful girl in the world, Miss Katie."
And she was right. How could I not be? Beauty was my life's work. Skincare regimens, cosmetic artists, personal stylists, photographers—every waking moment was dedicated to crafting an image of flawless perfection. I was exquisite, a living work of art. Rich used to love this part of me. He used to adore his perfect doll. But since Aurora arrived, everything had changed.
Aurora was my half-sister. When my parents’ bitter divorce tore our family apart years ago, my mother chose her. She took Aurora to Europe, and I was left with my father.
I had screamed and cried, but my father and my brother, Ethan, smothered my grief with affection. They built a world for me where no shadow could touch me, a gilded cage I never knew I was in. I never had to lift a finger for anything. Private cars whisked me from one high-end boutique to another, my passport stamped with luxury destinations before I was twenty.
Then came the arranged marriage. I was introduced to Rich Blackwood, and after a year of meticulously orchestrated courtship, we wed. Our marriage had been a merger, a contract sealing the Sterling and Blackwood empires.
Rich continued where my father and brother left off. He sheltered me, pampered me, and never burdened me with the details of his world. All he asked was for me to be his beautiful, cheerful wife, waiting for him at home. I’d fill the silence of our massive house with my chatter about a new dress I’d bought, a disastrous makeup attempt, or which photo filter made me look best. He would listen, or at least pretend to, his patience a form of condescension I was too naive to recognize.
Everyone envied me. At twenty-eight, I was still a princess, insulated from reality. First by my family, then by my husband.
The truth was, I was useless. I had no skills, no ambitions. Without a team of staff, I couldn't even manage a day on my own.
I never thought this was a problem. Not until Aurora came back.
When my mother and Aurora walked through the arrivals gate at the airport, they were a vision of power. My mother, elegant in a camel trench coat, was a force of nature, already taking calls, her voice crisp with authority. Aurora stood by her side, a younger, sharper reflection—poised, vibrant, exuding a confidence that was utterly foreign to me. They were a power duo, straight out of a business magazine.
My father, there to greet them, was as stunned as I was.
My mother’s eyes landed on me, and a small frown creased her brow. For the first time in my life, I looked down at my frilly princess dress and felt a hot wave of shame. I felt childish and flimsy.
That was the moment the panic set in. A deep, primal sense of crisis.
From that day on, everything shifted. Aurora's brilliance captivated everyone. My father, Ethan, and even Rich looked at her with an admiration they never showed me. Suddenly, my carefully constructed world of beauty and leisure seemed shallow and pathetic. I, the pampered daughter, was a footnote in my own family’s story.
Jealousy, sharp and ugly, took root in my heart. And it bloomed into a raging inferno the moment I realized Rich was just as captivated by her as everyone else.

2
After Rich left, a gray mood settled over me for the rest of the day. By evening, I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to see him. I had to know.
The driver dropped me at the gleaming Blackwood Corp tower. I rode the private elevator up, my heels clicking ominously on the marble floor. The main offices were dark and silent, but a sliver of light escaped from under Rich's office door.
I slipped out of my shoes and crept closer, my heart pounding. Through the narrow gap where the door was slightly ajar, I could see them. Rich and Aurora, sitting across from each other, smiling, their rapport easy and intimate.
A sharp pain lanced through my chest. Then I heard Aurora's voice, smooth as silk.
"Still here, Mr. Blackwood? Won't the little lady at home get jealous?"
Rich's brow furrowed slightly. "Don't worry about her."
Aurora laughed, a light, musical sound. "I heard from Mrs. Gable that Katie's been quite upset lately. Maybe you should head home."
Rich let out a short, cold huff of air. His voice was a low, dismissive drawl laced with a scorn that cut me to the bone.
"Jealous? What could she possibly do? Without me, Katie is nothing. Just a pretty canary in a gilded cage I built for her. A broken, useless thing."
My blood ran cold. Rich... did he really see me that way?
Just as a surge of furious tears burned my eyes, another voice chimed in, calm and familiar.
"Katie's always been spoiled. A little hardship will do her good."
My head snapped up. Through the crack in the door, I saw him. My brother. Ethan. Standing right there, his expression placid, as if discussing the weather.
"She's not a child anymore," he continued. "If she throws a tantrum over something this small, who could stand it? It’s time her rough edges were smoothed out."
My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a gasp, my body trembling so violently I thought I would collapse. My movement must have made a sound, because Rich's head shot up, his eyes narrowing on the door.
"Who's there?"
Panic seized me. I scrambled backward, grabbing my shoes and running. Pride, the only thing I had left, wouldn't let me stay. I couldn't bear the thought of Aurora seeing me like this, her eyes filled with the same pity I saw in everyone else's.

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