The Tainted Lover's Cold Comeback

bullet for him, saved him from a cartel, and in return, he pro

uation, I watched from the wings as he got d

. A leaked video later proved this wasn't just a betrayal; it was a conspiracy. I heard

rated my public humiliation, discarding me

made a single call to a heritage network I'd been using to find my

pte

a P

illion glittering pieces the

he Juilliard stage. Not for me, not for my s

ull, rhythmic thud against my ribs

verse since he saved me from the streets as a brok

f a Mexican cartel, taking the bullet, enduring the tortur

r so I believed. He' d whispered promises of a sec

his touch a familiar comfort

hing haunted in his eyes. A twisted logic I could never

aid. But he neede

son, my closest friend, my classm

the dream I' d nurtured in the shadows of his c

e was on an international business tr

ing in my throat. I stumbled backward,

llow graduates faded. The joyous hum of

e size of a pigeon' s egg. It caug

lla, dissolved into tears, noddi

he flat. It was a familiar ache, a reminder of

The same look he' d once reserved for me,

my knuckles white. My secret marriage. His i

fragile glass. I felt an emptiness so pr

ressed my palm hard against my stoma

ery moment, every word. His

violence, only to destroy me with a pu

nted, "Kiss h

nately. Openly. Fo

rom the brutal clarity that now pierced

cret. A weapon. A d

umph, was now a backd

l manifestation of the agony in my soul.

r. Before anyone saw

the applause, away from the laughter, away from

away. Each step was a battle agains

cool night air. But the pain

forever. He had giv

to scream. But no sound escap

ds scattered across the black velvet. Not

age from him. "Baby, almost done wit

t twisted in the wound now

ords mocking me. Thinking of m

fingers, clattering onto the

gone. Reduc

and hard began to form. A resolve.

be a secr

dn't b