irthday, a day that should have been filled with laughter and joy, but the ghost of my foster parents hung in the air, a constant, sa

the shattered pieces of my life after they were gone. He was handsome, with a serious face that rarely

that always made my heart beat a little faster. He pushed a

lack velvet, was a delicate silver necklace with a single, perf

spered, my voice thick with

rbored a secret, a love for him that grew from childish adoration into something deep and all-consuming. Ton

a quiet hush, I found him in his study. He was staring out the

d softly, steppi

on unreadable. "Chloe.

I took a deep breath, the words tumbling out before I could stop

, which had been passive, hardened into a mask o

y?" His voice wa

ed, a foolish hope still

an anger I had never seen before. "That' s improper, Chloe. Disgusting. I am you

ieces. I recoiled as if he had struck me. He saw the tears welling in my

aced with contempt. "I took you in. And this is

humiliation and pain. The next morning, he was gone. He left a no

started college, and lived in the big, empty house that was once a ho

ffany. She was beautiful, with a perfect smile and an air of polished sophistication. She l

n said, his tone formal and dist

so sharp, so intense, it was hard to breathe. But a stubborn

se friends. I insisted on going. I begged, I pleaded, I made a scene. I think a part of me

' re being childish, Chl

le. "Oh, let her come, darling. It' s no

relented, his face a mask of weary frustration. I

Ethan and Tiffany laugh with their friends, Sarah and Mike. The pilot, a kind-faced man named Liam, gave

dered violently, an alarm blared through the cabin, and the oxygen m

ce calm but urgent. "There are parachu

on, my fingers clumsy with fear. Then, I saw Ethan. He was helping Tiffany with her parachute, his m

o save me. But he strode past me, his face grim. He grabbed the

nding over me. The plane lurched a

his voice cold and hard above

him, confuse

d reaching for the straps on my chest.

le with terror. Her parachute looked perfectly fine to me. But the

e?" I stammered, my

the same look he had given me the night I confessed

id, his voice flat. "You' ll have a bet

y, his fingers cold against my skin. He snatched it away and fastened it onto

the thought of the crash itself. He was my uncle, my g

is eyes were wide with disbelief. "Ethan,

oward the emergency exit that the crew

sh that killed my foster parents. Ethan had found me sitting alone in the wreckage of our car, small and silent. He had wrapped me in his coat

as a

searing shock, pulling me down into the dark, churning ocean. As the wreckage of

y bruised and broken, but alive. The storm had passed, and the sun was beg

tumbled through the dense jungle that bordered the beach, calling out names, my voic

n, I fo

dy tangled in vines. He was unconscious, a deep gash on h

trembling. It was weak, but it was there. All the betrayal, all the pain, it all van

carried him through treacherous terrain, my own injuries screaming in protest with every step. I battled the relentless sun, the swarming insects, and the crushing weight of his unconsci

austion. But I never stopped. I just kept putting one foot in front of the oth

into a clearing. And there they were. The other survivors. Li

psed to the ground, my legs giving out from under me, Ethan's weight pinning me down. The

bed of soft leaves, a makeshift blanket covering me. My head throbbed, and every musc

log, with Tiffany clinging to his side. His head was

enderness that made my stomach clench. "When I woke up and saw you dragging me throu

uld do anything for you, Ethan. I was so scared. When I saw Chloe just

m. The grueling journey, the pain, the sacrifice... he had given the

rejection, worse than the parachute. This was the ultimate betrayal. He hadn't just ab

irl who had clung to him for so long finally died. I felt the last

o civilization. And then, I would disappear fro