LY

ies, casting a harsh, flat glow. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block the blindin

are tangled in a thin hospital gown that clings to my skin, an

elf up, heart hammering, and froze w

my shoulder gently, urging me to sit back. "You're

he fog of my mind until a jagged memory pierced through, s

e was a hollow ras

. hey,

ted into the light, his eyes bloodshot and swollen. He reached out, his hand h

ce broke. "You're in the hospital. You... y

chest that stole my breath. My secret weapon against Lucian, the only leverage I had

mbling. "This isn't real. It's

sorry,

choing off the cold, tiled walls. "Not no

I curled into a ball, clutching the hospital sheets as if they could hold

urvive thi

hing keeping me from floating away into the dark. "You

the future he wanted for you.

pathy. "I'm sorry, Mrs. White," he said quietly. "We can't give you a definitive reason for the loss ye

he name felt

I spat out, the wor

ooking at him. I was looking at t

rying suddenly stopping, replac

er, my dreams, my soul into that marriage. And he did me dirty.

low. Every bit of the reality I had built for three years had been s

ft with

rawl up my throat. It wasn't the heat of sad

at the sterile white wall until my eyes burned. But they've

ace I once called home, and the sight sent a shiver down my sp

el asked, his voice low. He turned off the engine a

him a look, one pitiful, weary

t a few minutes,

with a quiet thud. Inside, the living room smelled

a glass of wine in hand, laughing and having a good tim

through the silence of the foyer, sharp and

best friend standing in the m

chest burned. "I should have seen it years ago. The way you tried to talk me out of marryi

d from ear to ear, a twisted, Joker-like grin. "You were just too blind to

sting like poison. "All those years playing the 'loyal

pped, her eyes flashing. "To prot

d laugh escaped my throat as hot

home! You're a

"I'm not here to trade insults with you. I'm here for my things. Then

toward th

ked, lunging forward to block my path. "You

rm. I burst into the master bedroom. To my surprise and perhaps my final heartbreak,

on my finger, the weight of a thousand broken promises. I twisted it off, the

g at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed. "I hope yo

nches from her face. "I'm not

"Don't show your ug

this: when you see me again, you'll be the one begging for mercy. I am going to make y

wavered, replaced by a

rve," I said, stepping past her and ou