Semua Bab The Black Rose: Bab 1 - Bab 4

ELLIE That was the first time in years I'd let myself cry. After years of being disappointed and hurt by both my family and my bad taste in men, I'd grown an immunity to tears. But seeing my brother in that state was enough to open the floodgates I'd sealed shut for the past five years—the last time I cried—and it reminded me of all the reasons why I'd stopped giving in to my emotions. The lack of control, the weakness. I hated it. So fucking much! Even now, with the barrel of a gun staring down at me, I hated how I couldn't stop the tears that streamed down my face. But my years of training seemingly went down the drain the second I learned of my brother's death. My entire form trembled, a chill consumed me from the inside out. I wasn't just sweating; I was shivering from it. My fingernails dug painfully into my palms as I set each arm by my sides, or rather, I was forced to. I was shoved into a small black car not too far from the entrance without being given a moment to brea

ELLIENoir was the last sight I remembered before I was taken by slumber, my body unable to continue after the day's events. I shut down and embraced the darkness like it was the warmth I never truly got growing up.A warmth I'd told myself I would never need.I awoke with a start, my chest constricting as my throat closed up and I struggled to breathe. Shock, anxiety, fear—they all melded into one heavy feeling that seemed to squeeze my throat until I'd forgotten how to breathe.My eyes snapped open, and sunlight immediately burned through my blurry sight, making my eyes water even as I struggled to catch my breath.It was like being dragged out of a lake in the middle of the desert.For a moment, I wondered if Dylan, my best friend, had snuck into my apartment again and opened my curtains just to annoy me, an activity she enjoyed more than anything.But then, the unmistakable pain in my left arm hit me, and with it came the memory of how it came to be.The bald man pulling me out of