jealous." "Poor Bethany." Each comment was a fresh stab of pain. Chloe felt a familiar, chilling isolati

promised to be there for her, to look after her. He had even been the one to buy her Sky, the little parrot, to comfort her in her loneliness

cruel irony. He had used that phrase to keep her close, to keep

, her voice barely a whisper, her eyes stil

a tearful Bethany to her feet, did

that it felt like a physical blow. Chloe forced herself to look up, to meet his cold, indifferen

t quite meet her eyes. His gaze flickered away, toward Bethan

needed to hear the words. She needed the fina

ed, her voice gaining

d to marry is Bethany," he declared, his voice ringing with a cruel finality. He then

. It was the sound of her own heart shattering, the five-year dream she

ck. She didn't go to a hotel. She went back to the apartment she had shared with Mr. Harrison fo

her architectural awards. She took down the photos, the art she had chosen, the colorful throws she had drap

found it: cold, sterile, and empty. It was a minimalist bachelor pad once again,

ftly as he hopped around her boxes. The little bird was the onl

around. It was as if she had never been there at all. The thought didn't bring her the pain she e