ie

my heart. The hallway was quiet, the air thick with the scent of disinfectant and despair. Damon was nowhere in sight

d to his ear. But he wasn't talking business. His tone was lo

oser, hiding behind a large potted plan

t one! What if she goes to the police? We're ruined

t rage washed over me, momentarily eclipsing the

hone. "I'll handle Ellie. I'll convince her it was an accident. We just

onse, "But Damon, what about us? S

ke, Katina. A complication. Ellie is my fiancée. She's the one who brings stabi

as to him. A means to an end. A stepping stone to his ambition. Katina,

am bubbling up, but I swallowed it, choking on the bitterness. I woul

f frustration. He looked up, his eyes scanning the empty parking lot. I froze, hol

my room before collapsing onto the bed. The doctors had told me to rest, that the car accident had put immense stress on my body. "Be car

ipped bare, exposed to the most heinous betrayal. Damon' s words echoed: "Ellie is my

nly proposed for her family's connec

name, my family's money, for his ambition. My love,

piercing pain ripped through my lower abdomen. I cried out, a guttural so

whole was the frantic beeping of machines and a nurs

radshaw," the doctor said, her voice soft, regretful. "We did ev

aby. My child. Gone. Because of them. Because of their lies, their scheming

.. I'm so sorry. Our baby... I can't believe this happened." He tried to embrace me,

him away with what little str

s face before he quickly masked it with concern. "Ell

out grieving, Damon? Let's talk about it." I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, my fingers fl

out you. About me. About our 'connections' and your 'funding

placed by a cold, stony anger. "This is nonsense, Ellie. She's just a jealous, unstable woman. You know how

he Den'? Were those her manipulation too? Or was that you, showing

, though. "Ellie, you're hallucinating. The stress... the medication... you'

ely resolve hardening my tone. "I know about Katina. I know about her blog. I know about the car accident she arra

genuine emotion. "Fine," he snarled, his voice a low growl. "You want the truth? Here it is. I proposed to you for your family's social standing. For the finan

f liberation. The illusion was gone. The lie was exposed.

e trembling but firm. "Get out

t it was extinguished quickly. "You'll regret this, Ellie. You'll be nothing without

a tiny spark, a flicker of defiant light, ignited in the darkness. He thought I'd be nothing? He had just unleashed a stor