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~Standing Ground For The First Time~

Author: Carabella
last update publish date: 2026-02-01 23:44:04

Chapter Twenty Three.

Something inside me snapped.

Not broke…snapped. Like a rubber band stretched too far, finally giving way. All the years of bending, of making myself smaller, of swallowing their cruelty and calling it love…it all released at once.

I straightened my spine.

"No," I said.

The single word hung in the air like a grenade with the pin pulled.

Aunt Marie blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I said no." My voice was steady now, clearer than it had been in years. "I'm not going back to Julien."

"
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