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Chapter 10

Penulis: Roaring River
"Hugh," I said quietly, "what you really want... is the version of me that's healed. Clearheaded. Right?"

I paused, slow and steady. "But what if one day that injury comes back? What if I turn into that simple, dependent girl again—the one who needs help, who messes up your fancy events? Would you still want me then?"

Hugh froze.

Just for a second—but it showed. His jaw tightened, eyes flicked. That pause? It said everything.

He jumped in too fast. "Of course I would! No matter what happens, I'll love you, I'll take care of you!"

Too late.

I looked at him, gave a soft smile—more relief than sadness. "See, Hugh? You hesitated. And in that second, it was clear. You don't want me. You want someone who keeps up. Someone who won't drag you down. Not the real Wenna—whether she's broken or not."

The words hit like a hammer.

He stepped back, color draining. Mouth opened—nothing came out.

His strength crumbled. He just stood there, hollow.

He got it.

He hadn't just lost the broken gi
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  • I Ran Before He Could Lie   Chapter 10

    "Hugh," I said quietly, "what you really want... is the version of me that's healed. Clearheaded. Right?"I paused, slow and steady. "But what if one day that injury comes back? What if I turn into that simple, dependent girl again—the one who needs help, who messes up your fancy events? Would you still want me then?"Hugh froze.Just for a second—but it showed. His jaw tightened, eyes flicked. That pause? It said everything.He jumped in too fast. "Of course I would! No matter what happens, I'll love you, I'll take care of you!"Too late.I looked at him, gave a soft smile—more relief than sadness. "See, Hugh? You hesitated. And in that second, it was clear. You don't want me. You want someone who keeps up. Someone who won't drag you down. Not the real Wenna—whether she's broken or not."The words hit like a hammer.He stepped back, color draining. Mouth opened—nothing came out.His strength crumbled. He just stood there, hollow.He got it.He hadn't just lost the broken gi

  • I Ran Before He Could Lie   Chapter 9

    Now, they were clear. Calm. Reflecting his wreck of a self right back at him without blinking."You... You really...?" His voice cracked, but the rest didn't make it out.Yeah. I'm better now.Everything you saw. Everything you guessed. You were right.The thirteen-year-old version of me—frozen in place for fifteen years—had finally started turning again the second I woke up.I didn't say any of that. Just nodded.The magnolia was too sweet—thick and sharp in the air, tangled with his sinking despair.***Panic hit him. He lunged for my hand. I stepped aside, easy."Wenna, come back with me." His voice cracked, shaking. Eyes bloodshot. "Let's get married—now. I messed up, I was blind, but I see it now. I'll never let go again."After you left, I realized—I never loved Mia. Not really. I liked you since we were kids. That crush turned into love, I just—I didn't face it."Do you get that? Can you even understand—"There it was. Still talking to me like I was slow.I shook my

  • I Ran Before He Could Lie   Chapter 8

    Hugh stared at his reflection, and for the first time, it hit him square in the chest:He might've lost the one thing that ever really mattered.Not out of duty—but because he loved her. And he was too spineless to say it, too buried in his own pathetic pride to even see it.***By the time Hugh found me, it was late fall.The magnolia tree in the yard was blooming weirdly early—pink petals tucked into dark green leaves, swaying whenever the wind brushed by. The scent lingered.I sat under it with the old lady next door, sorting olives—green in one basket, black in the other. She showed me how to stab each one before soaking them. Said even bitterness could turn sweet if you gave it time.Toby, the neighbor kid, was sprawled over the stone table, legs swinging, tossing in comments:"Wenna, you put a green one in the black basket.""Wenna, you dropped a few."He reminded me of Bowie.Except Toby didn't treat me like I was broken.I messed up again. He laughed. I laughed back

  • I Ran Before He Could Lie   Chapter 7

    I really did want to let him go.I just never got the chance—Bowie beat me to it, shoving me into the street.But now? I finally did it.Hugh, I'd given you back your freedom.And sent that foolish version of me—the stain on your perfect life—back to the past where she belongs.***At the altar, Hugh looked at Mia all dolled up in her wedding dress, beaming like she just won prom queen—and all he felt was a punch to the gut."Nope. I'm going after her.""Hugh!" Mia's voice cracked, full-on panic mode.His parents snapped, low and furious, "Hugh! Where do you think you're going? The ceremony's not done!"Yeah, he didn't hear a thing.His head buzzed like static. Heart clamped tight, spiraling fast.The panic had started when Wenna said no to his proposal. Now, staring at Mia in white, it detonated.Why was she the one up there?Where was his Wenna?She wouldn't ditch him... right? She was supposed to be the one who needed him. The one who always listened. The one who coul

  • I Ran Before He Could Lie   Chapter 6

    Mia went pale.She slapped on a smile like it might fix anything. "She's gone. Don't you want to marry me? I'm here for you.""What?" Hugh blinked, then shoved her words aside. "Where did Wenna go? She's mentally slow—how could you let her leave by herself?!"Yeah, that quiet girl who used to wait at the door for him like a lost puppy. The one who clung to the dream of marrying him.Gone.***While Hugh was busy staging his big "look, she's totally fine now" wedding—I'd already cut a deal with Mia and bounced. That place? Nothing but bad memories.I hopped on a southbound train. I was going home.My parents' place—white cottage, mossy roof, classic storybook vibes.Out back stood this magnolia tree that danced every time the wind kicked up.Tried to crash on the train, but my brain had other plans. Kept drifting into this one dream—The wedding still happened. I actually married Hugh.I was in this ridiculous, heavy dress, tiara sparkling like I was some fairytale princes

  • I Ran Before He Could Lie   Chapter 5

    I never meant to hurt her.She threw the first slap, spat the insults too. Then—bam—a tiny scratch on her face, and suddenly I was the monster.Psych ward.Labeled the campus freak. The crazy girl no one dared sit next to.Hugh visited once. Same look he was giving me now—disgust, fear, like I was contagious.I remembered trying to explain, hands shaking, voice cracking. Didn't matter.It took months of meds and therapy just to feel half normal again.I thought he'd forgiven me.Thought he saw me.But nah.To him, I was always that broken, reckless girl. Just one misstep away from ruining everything.The words stuck in my throat, bitter and heavy.'Guess what, Hugh? I don't like you anymore.'***He threw me back in the psych ward.Told the doctors, "Up her treatment. The wedding's in a month—no screw-ups."So yeah—they strapped me down, hit me with shocks till I could barely breathe.And the sick joke? I hadn't even touched Mia.He never showed. But there he was on T

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