30/12/2025
The Guest Nobody Saw
Part One
The music thundered through the ballroom, golden lights cascading from the ceiling like elegant rain. Crystal glasses were refilled one after another, the champagne flowing as if it were water.
The room was packed with people dressed like they belonged on a magazine cover—laughing, dancing, snapping selfies, and whispering critiques of anyone who passed too close. In the middle of all that glamour, tucked away in a corner near a massive marble pillar, sat Ethan.
He was 35, handsome, with a well-groomed beard and dark eyes that held more secrets than he cared to share. He sat there in his wheelchair, watching the scene as if the party didn't belong to him, as if none of it was meant for him. His black suit and crisp white shirt were simple and unpretentious. His posture was straight, but his gaze revealed everything. He had been staring at the dance floor for a long time, motionless and silent.
Nobody approached him.
Most of the guests knew who he was—or at least the version of his story they liked to repeat. He was the wealthy cousin of the hostess, Miranda, the one "who ended up like that" after the accident. Some even made things up, whispering that he had lost his mind or had become bitter and dangerous. The truth was simpler: Ethan just didn’t trust anyone anymore.
The only person who checked on him occasionally was Miranda. She was the queen of the evening—tall, in a stunning red gown and expensive jewelry, her hair styled with surgical precision. Even though Ethan technically owned the estate, he seemed like nothing more than an inconvenient guest whom everyone had agreed to ignore.
But tonight, something was about to change.
While the crowd was lost in their world of fake laughter, the ballroom door cracked open just a few inches. Rosa, a member of the cleaning staff, slipped in almost unnoticed. She moved quickly with her head down, her gray uniform making her invisible among the glitter and silk.
She was leading her five-year-old daughter, Lily, by the hand. Lily wore a simple white sundress, her hair tied up in two neat little buns. Rosa had no one to watch her and had begged Miranda for permission to bring the girl along just for a short while while she finished setting things up. Miranda had agreed, but with a look of pure annoyance.
Rosa quickly disappeared through the side doors to finish her work, leaving Lily standing by the wall, her eyes wide as she took in the spectacle. She didn't understand what any of it was, but the lights fascinated her. She took a step forward, then another, and then one more.
No one noticed her. No one spared a glance for the little girl weaving through the long gowns and expensive shoes.
Until she stopped directly in front of Ethan.
He saw her approach but said nothing; he just watched her. She looked back at him with that serious expression children have when they are deciding whether or not to trust someone. Lily kept her hands folded in front of her for a moment.
Then, suddenly and without a word, she reached out and offered him her hand—simple and direct, as if the wheelchair didn't exist, as if it didn't matter who he was or why he was sitting alone.