on one knee, holding a ring, and said with eyes full of si

For three years, that sentence

world was

ldhood sweetheart," the man with the

r smelled of rust and decay. I was tied to a c

pale under the single swinging lightbulb. He lo

er shoulders shaking.

beg. My heart was beating a frantic rhythm

eady. "I have money. My family doesn't, but Liam's

y sound. "This isn't about money, s

rd Liam. "Time's up, buddy. W

re filled with a pain so deep

red, his voice cra

ot towards me, bu

my throat. It felt l

ut as he untied Olivia's ropes. "But I swear, I'

for Olivia's soft sobs as L

promised me everything, and a bitter laugh es

y voice dangerously quiet, "there wi

n't move. I saw his shoulders tense. I thought, for

did

and started walking towards t

gh them. So this was what it felt like to love someone more than li

He had promised to cherish me

li

, looking down with a strange s

nt?" I asked, m

. "My business was with him. He made h

y life was a pawn in some twist

st going to l

cutting my ropes. "I'm not a murderer. J

nd paused. "For what it

he wa

pty doorway. My heart was a hollow, aching void

t me never see

Bright lights flooded the dark space, and

ards me with a look of sheer

d com

ing me so tight I could barely breathe. "Chloe!

ed familiar. It shoul

felt n

were just noise, echoing in the vast emptiness inside me. The heart he

g," he begged, his v

but no sound came out. The shock, the betray

right lights blurred, a