The Canary Who Chose the Sky

On the eve of my wedding, I was kidnapped. Everything they did to me was livestreamed. As the kidnappers broke my fingers one by one, my adoptive brother pleaded desperately from the other side of the screen. “Don’t touch her. My life is worth more. Take me instead.” When I was finally rescued, I had lost control of my bladder. He insisted on carrying me to the hospital and refused to leave my side. I thought he loved me—until I saw the comments floating out of thin air. [I live for obsessive romance between siblings who aren’t blood-related. This twisted love is so good.] [He broke her wings just to keep her by his side forever. Ethan’s love is so real.] [Once his little canary’s legs are broken, she’ll never escape him.] The kidnapping had been my adoptive brother’s plan all along. He had destroyed me because he loved me. But I didn’t need his so-called love. And I refused to be his broken bird. “Again? We’ve all had a turn. Can she even take any more?” The voice coming through the modulator was merciless. “You don’t stop until she bleeds. She might be pregnant. That baby cannot be born.” The pain felt like a dull knife hacking through flesh and bone. Tears flooded my eyes, and my screams became music for the men around me. I tried to escape, but the man on top of me grabbed my ankle and brought a hammer down hard enough to shatter the bone. I nearly passed out. A hand grabbed my hair and forced my head into the bathtub, choking me awake. During that endless moment, death became a mercy I could only dream of. “She’s bleeding. Take some pictures for the client. Lift her face. Get a few good shots.” “Look at our masterpiece. She can’t even stand!” Their laughter almost drowned out the distorted voice. “This is your fault. This is your punishment for loving someone else. This is what betrayal gets you.” “Now I’m all you have. You’ll never be able to leave me again.” “Stay with me forever, sweetheart.” [Ethan’s losing his mind with jealousy over another man touching his girl.] [Good thing she wasn’t actually pregnant. But seriously, she has no self-respect. She’d rather marry some used-up jerk than notice Ethan, who’s always protected her.] [Team Ethan all the way. This twisted romance is incredible.] [I love this creepy, obsessive vibe. Don’t fight it, baby girl. Just stay with Ethan forever.] Half-conscious, I watched countless comments drift across my vision. The word that appeared most often was brother. They were saying my brother had hired the kidnappers? How could that be? I lay against Ethan’s chest. His racing heartbeat was deafening, and wet tear tracks covered his face. Ethan cared about me more than anyone. Even a little scrape would upset him for hours. How could he have hired people to torture me while begging through the screen to take my place? “Don’t be afraid, Lily. I’m here. I won’t let a single person who hurt you get away with it.” The stench coming off my body made everyone else gag. Ethan only held me tighter, as if I would disappear the moment he loosened his arms. Even as they wheeled me into surgery, he clung to my sleeve and repeated his instructions to the doctors. “My sister is afraid of pain. Use the best anesthesia you have. Don’t let her suffer.” “Lily, I’ll be right outside. Don’t be scared. Think of it as a nightmare. Once you wake up, it’ll all be over.” I forced myself to nod. Only when the doors closed did the tears I’d been holding back spill over. How could this ever be just a nightmare? The hideous wounds, my mangled fingers, and the unending pain kept reminding me. I might never get my beautiful life back. … The anesthesia didn’t work very well. Whenever pain tore through my body, I instinctively hooked my fingers around Ethan’s. He was always there. He would gently cover my eyes. “Sleep. I’m here.” The next time I woke, I heard him talking to a doctor. “Mr. Bennett, are you still refusing surgery? If we wait any longer, the tissue in Lily’s finger joints will start dying.” The doctor sounded deeply worried. “She won’t just lose the ability to play piano. She may not even be able to bend her fingers. She’s already paralyzed. If you destroy her hands too, how is she supposed to live?”“With me taking care of her, Lily will live better than most people even if she becomes completely helpless.” I had never heard Ethan sound so cold. His next words carried a mocking edge. “What? Do you pity her?” “N-no. That’s not what I meant.” From the sound of the doctor’s chattering teeth, I could picture Ethan’s faint, unreadable smile. Whenever he wore that expression, his employees would break out in a sweat. “I only meant that she has an international tour this year. It’s her first chance to perform alongside a world-renowned pianist. She worked so hard for it. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity.” “It won’t be wasted. Someone will take her place.” Ethan ran his fingers over each of my dislocated joints. The tingling sensation turned to stabbing pain as he pressed harder. “Lily doesn’t belong on an international stage. I’m sending Chloe instead. She’s loved piano since she was little. Playing with her favorite master will be a dream come true.” “Lily spent years living under the title that belonged to the Bennetts’ real daughter. She owes Chloe this performance.” The doctor had no answer. Following Ethan’s instructions, he gave me another injection to put me to sleep. [But the international tour is Lily’s dream too.] [She only got that tour because of her family. If Chloe had studied piano from childhood, she’d definitely be better.] [Having Ethan’s love is already more than she deserves. Now she wants to steal Chloe’s glory too?] [Lily isn’t cut out for piano anyway. Ethan’s doing this for her own good.] [Her music only needs an audience of one: Ethan.] Not cut out for piano. A few careless words erased ten years of work. I wasn’t a born pianist. But I worked hard. I spent every spare moment at the keys. I had loved playing with all my heart. I had also hated the piano from the bottom of it. But I had made it this far, step by step. Just when my dream was finally within reach— Someone had decided my music only needed one listener? Why? My music deserved the biggest stages. It deserved to be heard by the world! I didn’t want to be a songbird whose only purpose was pleasing a man. “Lily? Why are you crying?” The sedative made it impossible to tell whether Ethan’s voice was real or part of a dream. “Get the doctor!” Opening my eyes took so long it felt like another lifetime. “She may be experiencing spasms from the trauma. What she needs most right now is support from her family. Don’t let her get trapped in her emotions.” White coats came and went. Eventually, Ethan was the only person left. He wiped away my tears and murmured to himself. “Lily, don’t scare me. You have to be okay. You’re my everything.” It wasn’t the first time he had said something like that. After Chloe came home, I had once demanded an answer from him. “Who do you like having as your sister more? Chloe or me?” “You, of course. She’s only my sister by blood.” “But you’re special, Lily. You’re my everything.” Everything. Did that mean everything about me belonged to him? That he could do whatever he wanted with me? For the first time, the word love terrified me. I had thought the kidnapping that left me in agony was a random act of violence. Instead, it had been orchestrated by the person I loved most. Ethan’s hand slid from my tears to my chin, then to my loosened collar. The moment I felt his fingers move farther inside, I frowned and pretended I had just awakened. “Ethan.” “I’m here.” His face was full of concern, just as always. [He’s acting like such a gentleman, but he’s already hard.] [He’s wanted Lily for three years. He finally gets to have her.] [Come on, don’t waste this chance.] I glanced at his tightly pressed legs and asked softly, “What’s the date?” “July fifteenth. Why?” I had been unconscious for three full days since the last time I woke. July fifteenth was the day I was supposed to perform.From composing to rehearsals, I had played that piece countless times. Even in my dreams, I sat beneath the stage lights with my fingers poised over the keys. I had fought so hard for this chance. My teacher and all the friends who had helped promote me were waiting for this performance. “Let me leave. I need to play. I spent two whole years preparing for this tour. My teacher even bought a front-row ticket so she could watch her proudest student up close.” I couldn’t feel my lower body. Bracing myself against the bed, I tried to slide down. Pain shot through my fingers. Ethan’s expression darkened almost imperceptibly. The hand that had been reaching to help me caught my ankle and yanked. I lost my balance and hit the floor hard. Blood seeped from my knee, but as I stared at the red stain on my palm, I couldn’t feel a thing. “Stop making a fuss, Lily.” Ethan lifted me back onto the bed and calmly pressed the call button. “Dad’s at the concert. I’ll have him stream it for you.” My private room had its own large screen. On it, Chloe wore a custom gown as she performed the piece I had composed alongside the master pianist. “This is such a vibrant composition. It’s elegant, yet filled with warmth. Miss Bennett, what inspired you to write it?” “My mother. She used to hum folk songs while she worked in the fields. She inspired my dream of playing piano.” Chloe answered the master’s praise with effortless confidence. Thunderous applause filled the hall. “Now that’s a true Bennett daughter. Not some fraud who stole her place and disgraced us with a scandal right before her performance!” In the silence after the applause, Dad’s commanding voice was painfully clear. Someone couldn’t resist asking, “You mean your younger daughter, Lily?” “Who else? They said she missed her wedding, then found her in bed with seven men. How did she even manage it?” Dad knew his phone was on a video call. But he made no attempt to stop their conversation. The camera turned back toward Chloe onstage. Under the lights, she looked radiant. An unreachable star. But the person shining on that stage should have been me. “End the call. You know how much Dad hates being lied to. He lived with a lie for almost twenty years. You can’t expect him to be nice about it.” Ethan sighed and slipped an arm around my waist, trying to pull me against him. I pressed my hands against his chest as his hot breath brushed my ear. [Kiss her, Ethan. Tell her you’re all she has left.] [Oh my God, I’m so excited. Please just pin her down already.] [Poor baby. Her whole family abandoned her. Just be Ethan’s little canary.] Disgusting. Nausea surged up from my stomach. I shoved Ethan away with every bit of strength I had and began vomiting uncontrollably. Only after I had thrown up bitter yellow bile did the wrenching coughs finally stop. “Do I disgust you that much, Lily?” Ethan’s face went ashen. His dark eyes fixed on me, reminding me of the way those men had looked at me. For the first time, I was afraid of him. My stomach was still cramping. I dragged myself backward with all my strength. For every inch I retreated, Ethan advanced, until my back hit the bed and I had nowhere left to go. “It’s because of Nathan, isn’t it?” “You love him, so you’re saving yourself for him? You won’t even let me hold you?” [Ungrateful little bitch. Ethan treats you so well, and you’re still chasing another man.] [She deserves to have him devour her.] [You’re damaged goods. Take a good look at yourself. What makes you think you’re good enough for Nathan?] “No.” I forced the corners of my mouth up and gave Ethan a smile I didn’t mean. “I’m just not feeling well. Could you help me up?” “The doctor’s watching from the doorway. I don’t want to stay on the floor.” The door wasn’t fully closed. Ethan glanced at the doctor, who had been too afraid to approach, then lifted me onto the bed with a cold expression. He was rough, clearly taking his anger out on me. Before leaving, he pinched my cheek. “If you’re feeling sick, you can go without dinner. No point wasting food.” He stormed out. I let the stiff smile fall and took the phone from beneath my pillow. While he was carrying me, I had slipped it out of his pocket. Moving slowly, I opened my messages with Nathan. Nearly fifty messages filled the screen, all asking why I had missed our wedding. Of all the men Dad had considered for a business marriage, Nathan had been the kindest. He was also the only one who had insisted on marrying me even after learning I wasn’t a real Bennett daughter. Now he was my last hope. “Can we meet?”