My Montana Escape: A New Beginning

l remember. One more session, the doctor said, and

o find my fiancé, Alex, kissing my half-sister

teel model, bleeding on the floor of the studio we designed t

ld, turned against me. Alex, my Alex, had me committed, signing the

as erasing me, punishing me for a crim

myself. It's a plan. Sell the firm. Sell the house. Disappear to Montana.

pte

lie

out to eras

ty of this decision. One more session, the doctor had said. One more, and the

ve come to associate with a strange kind of peace. It' s t

checks the IV in my arm

roat too tig

gentle squeeze. "

My business partner. The man whose memory I' m about

liar guest these past few months. Of cour

s grow heavy, the stark white of the ceiling blurring into a soft haze. As the world disso

night. The night my perfec

tin. Ten years of late nights, shared dreams, and blueprints that became towering realit

rm sugar filling the minimalist home we' d designed together. Our home. A testament to

back of the house where I did my best work. I was going to surprise h

athy laugh I hea

doorway, my h

l

ders relaxed when he was truly at ease. He was leaning against

en I s

ly, charming ray of sunshine I

His hands were tangled in her blonde hair, pulling her closer for a kiss that was anythi

ers. It hit the polished concrete

panic that quickly curdled into something else when he saw me. Kalie just

ved most in the world. The man I was going to marry,

Alex' s cheek echoed in the sudden, suffocating silence of the

lying to his cheek, shock t

ged forward. "Don' t you hurt him!"

aper model on a nearby pedestal. A searing pain exploded behind my eyes, and the world tilted v

e didn' t rush to me. He rushed to Kalie, pulling her

," he murmured, stroking her

dn' t

realized a devastating truth. This wasn' t the first time. The ease of their embrace, the p

rtless star who drew everyone into

me of my place. "You' re just like him, Amelie. Cold. Unfeeling." While Kalie, the d

essed love through loyalty and action, not flowery words.

t a shadow. A

as a grieving, lost fifteen-year-old. The responsibility fell to me. I b

ome was a ticking clock. She' d always been envious, always believed she

d told myself that the decade Alex and I had built

s a

my sanctuary, didn' t just brea

the floor. He knelt beside me, his face a mask of conce

he touch that had once been my grea

me," I raspe

his eyes before it was replaced by def

ic, pathe

I said, the words

. "But you have to understand. You' ve been so distant lately, so

adequacy. He was punishing me for being the steady, reliable architec

, Amelie. She' s been going thro

eel the blood, warm and sticky, matting my hair. "A

accusatory. I saw him wince. He kn

oice hardening. As if that lessened the betrayal.

nding her. He was a

man burdened by the emotions of two women. "Am

e away from my head stained red. I stared at it, th

ook a shaky step toward the door. I needed to get out. I

you going? You' re hurt. We n

is touch as if it were

hissed, his charm vanishing to reveal the weakness undern

. It was Bailey, my best friend, her face painted

ding head, Alex' s red cheek, and Kalie, who was still artfully s

ross the room. "It was my fault. I... I was just talking to Alex, and Amel

ely off its axis. The lie was so blatan

just stood there, his silen

it landed on me. She saw a hysterical, injured woman and a we

nt, I was utterly

rom the memory, a distant echo.

slipped from the corner of my eye an

o

se

se

e it

ess took me completely was the empty