partment silent around me. I hadn't bothered with an ice pack. I wanted to feel it. I needed the

nbidden, d

after a 36-hour surgical marathon on his failing heart. The way I' d hold a cup of coffee in hands that trembled

a field I was passionate about, because he had developed a fever and I didn't trust anyone else to mana

never a

ld-class surgeon, were clumsy at. He arrived three hours late, smelling of expensive perfume that wasn't mine, talking animatedly on his phone ab

membered th

o see: my sacrifice was not a testament to our love, it was merely the price of his convenience. He hadn't loved me. H

him and the man who slapped me for a discarded bracelet

t, a deep and

ugh the window, bright and unforgiving.

uld legally bind mysel

bruise was blooming on my cheekbone. I didn't try to cover

in white dress. It felt cl

rand, old stone structure, a place of official beginn

l and

ere for the

dy diamond necklace, a piece I recognized instantly. In my past life, Daniel had given it to me on my 30th birthday, calling i

ossessive glare that still assumed he had some claim over me. His eyes briefly flickered to the bruise on my ch

wedding. He thought my presence wa

ed, his voice low so only I could hear. "

false pity. "Oh, sister. You shouldn't

ure. She was claiming her prize, flaunting her victory. She

. The calmness in my eyes, the complete lack of pain or jealousy, w

ama they were still so desperately playing. They were a chapter o

Sarah preen with her new necklace, an

to the building, my head held high. T