window, picked up a bowl of fruit, and peeled an orange with meticulous care. The silence stretched, heavy and s

t, devoid of emotion as he offered me a segment of orange

hing, Brennan. That's a career." But I was too exhausted to fight him. My stomach rumbled, a stark reminder of how long it had been since I' d eaten anyt

He had chosen the precise moment of my vulnerability, when grief for my mother momentar

again, but then dulled into a weary ache. My mother. I swallowed, the orang

riends, some distant relatives. Brennan stood beside me, a picture of somber support. His arm, when it wasn't subtly holding my

woman whisper to another, mistaking his perfo

just stood there, biting the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood, a silent acknowledgment of

d disrespectful, pushed through the crowd, their faces hungry for scandal. "Mr. Monroe! Is it t

e, usually so composed, paled. His grip

you think of your partner's new relationship? Is this

les"-the public humiliation of my stolen journal, the collapse tha

ided my gaze, his jaw clenched, his face a mask of furious concentration

wide with what looked like genuine distress. "Oh, Brennan, darling, I'm so sorry! I told them not to come. This

se. "It's alright, Aimee. Don't worry about it." He then turned a furious glare on

echoed, my voice hoarse. "You expect me to control myself, Brennan? While you're here, playing the grieving

, his face a thundercloud. "

e sleeping with her? When you were neglecting my mother? When you were destr

. "Garnet, you don't know what you're talkin

ile I was bleeding, while my mother was dying? Did you?" I needed to know, even if the truth

r. Then, his voice barely audible, he mumbled

y were lies. The image of him, so tender, so devoted, dissolved into a grotesque distorti

t star. The Gibson guitar, the silent promise of shared dreams

arm screaming in protest, but I didn't care. "You disgust me!" I screamed, spittin

s. "We are done, Brennan!" I shouted over my shoulder, the words a raw, painful vow. "Do you hear me? Done!" I st