LOGIN"How dare you step into this house with that child?" he said, his eyes cold. "You've disgraced me." She gave him four years. Four years of loyalty. Four years believing a marriage built on paper could turn into love. She trusted him with everything... her heart, her future, her reputation. She believed in him when no one else did. He repaid her with lies, one accusation, one carefully orchestrated betrayal, and just like that, she was erased, branded a traitor and left with nothing. They thought she'd disappear quietly, they were wrong. She's not broken, she's awakened, and when she comes back, it won't be with tears or pleas for forgiveness. It will be to reclaim every single thing they tried to bury her with. He wanted her gone. Now he's going to wish he'd never let her go.
View MoreCLAIREPain. That was the first thing I felt when I woke up. Not the sharp, tearing pain from before. This was different, like my entire body had been put through a grinder.I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds, voices drifted around me. Soft and distant."...stable now...""...lucky she didn't...""...a few more days..."I forced my eyes open. White ceiling... again.But this ceiling was different, cleaner. With soft recessed lighting instead of harsh fluorescent bulbs. I turned my head slowly, wincing at the ache in my neck. This wasn't the same hospital.The room was private, expensive-looking. Cream-colored walls, a large window with heavy curtains drawn shut, a single leather chair in the corner, and sitting in that chair, watching me, was a man. My heart stopped.Dark hair, sharp jaw, gray eyes that seemed to see right through me. Julian Cross. Ethan's stepbrother. The man I'd supposedly cheated with.I tried to sit up, panic flooding m
CLAIRE The hospital room was white, everything was white. I stared at the ceiling, my hand resting on my flat stomach. The door opened. I didn't turn my head. Didn't care who it was."Miss Whitmore?"A woman's voice, calm and gentle.I finally looked. A doctor stood at the foot of my bed, clipboard in hand. She was middle-aged, with kind eyes and graying hair pulled back in a neat bun. Her name tag read Dr. Sarah Martin."I'm Dr. Martin," she said softly, stepping closer. "I was the one who treated you when you came in. How are you feeling?"How was I feeling? I almost laughed. Almost."Tired," I whispered.She nodded, pulling up a chair beside my bed. She sat down slowly, like she was approaching a wounded animal."I need to talk to you about what happened," she said gently. "Is that okay?"I didn't answer, just kept staring at her.She took a breath. "When you came in, you were bleeding heavily. We did everything we could to stabilize you, but..." She paused, her eyes filled with s
CLAIREI was back at the motel, sitting on the bathroom floor with my knees pulled to my chest, when my phone rang... Dad.My heart leaped. Finally, someone who might listen, someone who would believe me.I grabbed the phone with shaking hands. "Dad? Dad, please, I need...""Come to the house." His voice was cold. "Your mother and I need to speak with you."Mother, he meant my stepmother, Patricia. My real mother had died when I was eight."Dad, I can explain everything. Those photos aren't...""Just come. Now."The line went dead. I stared at the phone, hope and dread warring in my chest, maybe this was good. Maybe they wanted to hear my side, maybe...I pushed myself off the floor and grabbed my jacket. The cab ride to my father's house felt like it took forever and no time at all. When I arrived, the front door opened before I could knock. Patricia stood there, her face a mask of disgust. She looked me up and down like I was something dirty she'd found on her shoe."Come in," she s
CLAIRE The motel room smelled like stale cigarettes and bleach. I sat on the edge of the sagging bed, my suitcase unopened on the floor, staring at nothing. The walls were a sickly yellow, peeling at the corners. A flickering neon sign outside the window cast red shadows across the room every few seconds.This was all I could afford.I pressed a hand to my stomach, feeling the emptiness there. Not empty, there was a baby. A tiny life growing inside me, but it felt empty because the father didn't want it. Didn't want me.My phone sat on the nightstand, silent.I'd tried calling Ethan seventeen times since I left the house. Seventeen calls, and every single one went straight to voicemail. He'd blocked me.I picked up the phone again, my fingers moving on autopilot. Maybe this time. Maybe if I just..."The number you are trying to reach is not available."I threw the phone onto the bed and pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to stop the fresh wave of tears, four years, four years o
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