Higgi

rom our lives as if we were a mistake he was correcting. My mother, a woman of incredible strength, withered under the weight of his departur

she had designed herself. "One day, my darling," she'd whispered, her voice weak but full of love

pursued me with a single-minded devotion that slowly chipped away at my defenses. He learned my coffee order, remembe

h, the autumn leaves falling around us like golden tears. I laid bare my deepest fear

ck with emotion. "Elaina, I swear to you, on my life, I will never be that man. I will never l

in. That was the moment I st

es I had clung to. He hadn't just used my trauma as an excuse; he had weaponized it.

eper than any physical wound could. Every word I had o

g down the seconds until you're my wife." He was a phenomenal actor. The realization was chillin

ould play a

ed incessantly. A dozen texts from Der

I came out an

erything ok

' re scarin

mlessly through the city streets, the setting sun painting the sky in shades of bruised purple and orang

twisting, and fell hard onto the pavement. A sharp pain shot up my leg. Be

Derek was there, his

over me as if he were afraid to touch me. He helped me sit up, his touch surp

oncern in his eyes was the same look he' d given me for ten years. For a dizzying moment, I almost b

ion," I stammered, the lie t

d my waist. "You've been acting strange all day

ersistence, who made me believe in loyalty again. The man who once drove three hours in a snowstorm just to bring

orate performance, a finely crafted illusion. I

" I said, my voice

on't worry about a thing. I'll take care of everything." He squeezed me tighter, his v

balm on a wound he himself had inflicted. He drew a warm bath fo

a tear finally escape and trace a hot path down my cheek. He was so good at this. So perfect. It would have

ldn't. I

A text message. I saw the preview for a fraction of a second before he snatched it up

hing I hadn't seen before. A flash of raw, undisguised lust. It vani

k as he stood up. "A server crashed. I have to go dea

o his lips met my cheek. He paused for a moment,

barely made it to the bathroom before I was sick, my body convulsing as I emp