The world returned in fragments. A crushing weight on my chest. Cold, wet stone scraping my cheek. A desperate, rhythmic pressure against my lips, forcing air into lungs that burned like they’d been scoured with salt and sand. A voice, raw and broken, repeating a word like a prayer, or a curse: "Breathe. Lucia, breathe! Please! Breathe!"I choked. Violently. Saltwater erupted from my mouth and nose in a burning torrent. My body convulsed, arching off the rough rock as I gagged and gasped, dragging in air that felt like shattered glass. The weight lifted slightly. Blurry shapes swam above me, grey sky, jagged rocks, and a face, etched with terror and desperation, water streaming from dark hair plastered to his forehead.Adam.Memory slammed back with the force of the waves still crashing nearby. The overlook. His fury. The desolate walk. The bridge. The fall. The cold, dark embrace. And then… him. Plunging after me. Grabbing me in the freezing dark. Dragging me up.He’d saved me. The m
The impact was a universe of white noise and shattering cold. Icy water, thick as concrete, slammed the air from my lungs, swallowed my cry. Down, down into the roaring dark. The world inverted sky a shrinking coin of grey light far above, the churning violence of the cove churning me like laundry in a furious machine.Pressure crushed my skull. Saltwater burned my nose, my throat. The cold wasn't just on my skin; it was in me, leaching into my bones, paralyzing thought. The numbness shattered into pure, animal panic. Breathe! the primal part screamed, but instinct fought reflex. My limbs thrashed uselessly against the powerful currents dragging me deeper. The bridge was gone. The sky was gone. Only the cold, dark embrace of the deep, and the terrifying knowledge that this was it.Then, another impact.Not water against rock. Something larger, heavier, hitting the surface close by. A violent displacement of water sent a shockwave through the depths, momentarily altering the currents t
The roar of the engine was a physical blow. Dust and gravel sprayed, stinging my scraped knees as Adam’s car fishtailed violently back onto the road. The tires screamed against the asphalt. He didn’t look back. Not a glance in the rearview mirror. The sleek black machine devoured the empty road, shrinking rapidly into the distance, leaving only the choking cloud of dust and the echoing, ragged sound of his fury hanging in the air.Silence crashed down. A vast, suffocating silence broken only by the relentless wind whipping across the desolate overlook and the distant, rhythmic boom of waves far below. The dust settled slowly, coating my skin, my clothes, my open, gasping mouth.Alone.Utterly, terrifyingly alone.His words ricocheted inside my skull, sharp and brutal. Run! Before I destroy you! Before she destroys you! Disappear! The pity in his eyes, the desperate rage it hadn’t been a lie. He truly believed the only mercy left was casting me out into the void. The fragile sanctuary
The fragile peace after the nightmare felt like thin ice over a dark chasm. Adam’s quiet presence, his hand covering mine at the sink, had been a lifeline. But in the days that followed, a new tension coiled around him, visible only in the tightness of his jaw, the way his gaze would linger on me with an unsettling intensity before flickering away, shadowed. The easy rhythm of Scrabble and shared silences was gone, replaced by a brooding stillness that vibrated with something unspoken.He’d been distant, lost in thought, pacing the terrace at night long after I’d retreated to my room. I’d watch his silhouette against the moonlit sea, a dark, restless figure wrestling with demons I couldn’t name. The warmth from the birthday night, the safety of his arms after the nightmare, felt like illusions now, receding under the weight of this new, grim silence.Then, one brittle morning, he announced it abruptly, not meeting my eyes. "Get dressed. We're going for a drive."No explanation. Just a
The magic of the blue silk night shattered like dropped crystal. One moment, I was adrift in a warm, dark sea, lulled by the memory of Adam’s gaze and the taste of lemon tart. The next, cold concrete pressed against my cheek, the sterile reek of antiseptic choked my throat, and the mocking, metallic click of a lock echoed in the suffocating silence of St. Mary’s solitary confinement. Just an exchange. Currency. Worthless except for the debt stamped on your skin.I jerked upright, a scream tearing from my raw throat before my eyes even flew open. Not a whimper, but a raw, animal sound of pure terror. Panic seized me, icy claws raking down my spine. The moonlit villa room blurred, replaced by the featureless white walls closing in. I thrashed, tangled in sweat-drenched sheets, fighting invisible restraints."Lucia! Lucia!"Strong hands closed around my upper arms. Not harsh, but firm, anchoring. I flailed harder, blind with panic, the scream ripping through the quiet night again. "No! L
The borrowed days had settled into a rhythm, a fragile, sun-dappled cadence of Scrabble wars, shared silences over bad movies, and the quiet intimacy of drying dishes beside Adam Lancaster. I’d almost stopped counting them, lulled by the deceptive peace. My birthday, a date etched in hospital charts and bureaucratic files, felt like something belonging to another Lucia, a Lucia before cages and Lancaster deals. I certainly hadn’t mentioned it.So, when I emerged from my room late that afternoon, drawn by the unusual scent of something richer than coffee drifting through the villa, I stopped dead. The living room, usually stark and vast, was transformed. Dozens of flickering tea lights lined the windowsills and coffee table, their warm glow reflecting off polished surfaces and casting dancing shadows on the walls. Soft, unfamiliar jazz played low. The dining table by the window overlooking the darkening sea was set for two crisp white linen, gleaming silverware, crystal glasses catchi