ve of nausea. Ethan' s cruelty knew no bounds. He hadn' t just killed them; he' d de

ospital garden, to the "children's roseb

the truth of my loss, for the babies who never had a ch

f was flawless. He wou

skin crawl. "They' re at peace now, Elara," he

red, my voice choked with re

ara. The Lyrid meteor shower. They say it' s going to be spectacula

round me, whispering dreams under a canopy of shooting stars. An

ful," I said,

ot for happiness, not for love. I wished for an ending. For his e

edication? Or just... everything?" He sounded almost... concerned. But it was a fleeting thi

ired,"

h you miss your art. I' ve loaded it with the best design software. You can sketch, plan you

probably planned to burn that down too, e

asm into my voice. "This is... thoughtful." I needed to

h himself. "Anything f

e on the tablet for my "Phoenix Rising" series. He nodded slowly. "Thi

s – admiration? Or was he just pleased that

water, adjusting my pillows. "Don' t overdo it

ion," he was overseeing the setup for a s

ible frown creasing his brow before it smoothed away. Was it

surgery. As they wheeled me out, Ethan kissed m

y eyes. Th

This was just the

he operating room fo

to one of the medications. It was a lie, of course, but it

o seemed to genuinely care and who I' d managed to slip a l

ective. They

ift" for Ethan was

photo of Chloe Sanders, laughing in Santorini, under the Lyrid meteor shower

from a burner phone just as I w

have, just like our children. I'm joini

efly, under escort, to "retrieve personal items." I'

ivate airfield sped away, I he

on would be

lara Vance, co

s was about