as not a single, innocent memento, but a stack of letters. Dozens of the

a year before our wedding. My eyes scanned the familiar loops

. kind. She's a good woman, and I owe her everything. But with you, it's

sentiment: Alex' s simmering desire for Ivy, his growing frustration with me, his constant need to "escape" th

le he was telling me he couldn't live without me, while he was making me believe we were s

s "business trips" that lasted longer than expected-they all clicked into place, forming a hideous mo

, but it wasn't the weather that made me s

rm. "Not like he loves me. He was just grateful, obligated. You

d up. "No! Tha

erate honesty. "He always loved me. We just... couldn't be together. Not with you in the w

ho I' d shared my deepest dreams with. Now, she was kneeling before me, beggin

red. Everything I believed, ever

partment, a scream building in my chest. I burst through the fr

oked up, startled, his eyes widening when he saw me

? What a

into his skin. "You liar! You despicable, cheating

face a mask of shock, then

shed floor like fallen leaves. "All your promises! Your declarations! Was it all a lie? Was I j

glistening with unshed tears. "Clarisa, I..."

ing as if his touch would poison me.

leaded, his voice cracking.

ou?" I spat. "Even then. All

I met Ivy before I met you," he mumbled, so low I almost

n the air, a fin