was to see me, Sarah M

tside the courthouse, he'

something with

ained her ankle and needed

having a bad day and ne

needed help clippi

rate times, nine perfect excuse

d a marriage license application at my

ntally hit someo

was low,

sperate to get married today, you

ke I was something

er place, I promise I will marry you when you get ou

I didn' t commit. For a woman who ha

face I had loved for five years,

barely a whisper, "you' ll really marry m

his grand sacrifice would finally fix everything. That i

s eyes hard.

blame. I walked into t

t to

n, the violence. I counted the days, h

d out, a free woman,

sica Stone, the daught

mother

hought. L

ou have to break

.

il for me would make Ethan marry her? What an idiot. All it

die! With her out of the way, there' s no one left t

ich man before she croaked, hahaha. I made sure to cut off

in the hallway of the hospital, gloating to a f

tered the last

d I still failed my mother. I couldn' t

washed over me, burning aw

ged at the woman who was still l

ica St

oken thing, scraped fr

ac

r face echoed in the quiet hall

eady turning a blotchy red. She stumbled backward and

n she recognized me, the triumph in her expression twi

h Mill

her voice hi

rer! How did you g

ly hit me? Y

, her eyes narrowed into

d, he' ll have you thrown back in that hellho

ands like claws, aiming for my hair. Her long, dark nails

n, she

y pulled back, her body going limp a

aahh

ce was a sobbing, heartbroken victim. Tears streamed down her perf

h... s

words, her voice

. you hate that I' m g

d eyes, looking at someth

ou... If it makes you feel better, ju

oked like she was bearing the weight

ti

ucking

d consume me from the inside out. I was trembling, abou

What the hell

voice I knew better than my own, but it was fille

turn, a powerful h

t just

hrew

thout a shred of mercy, h

lently. I lost my

Thump

ach step was a fresh burst of agony. My forehead smashed against the sharp

rough my entire body. But the agony of my shattering bones wa

ottom of the stairs, a crum

, my vision swimming with a

I sa

n Ha

five years. The man who

of fury. He didn't even glance d

entire world, there

at the top of the stair

e was the most precious treasure in the world. The careful way he held her, the look

ng him shield her in his arms, his bod

nally un

ely cared for, the person he would alw

er me, Sar

alway