GinaI don’t look back.Even when the cold wind rises behind me, whipping hair across my cheek like a plea, I keep walking.Because if I turn around and see him standing there in that clearing, watching me leave I don’t know if I’ll have the strength to keep going.My legs feel like they’re made of glass. Every step could shatter me.But I force myself to focus on the trees ahead, the iron gate that’s barely visible through the mist.This is my choice.I tell myself that over and over, like a prayer. Like a curse.This is my choice.When I reach the threshold of the estate grounds, two guards watch me warily. They don’t speak as they push the wrought-iron gate open just wide enough to let me pass.Their eyes say enough, that they don’t know what to make of me. That maybe they pity me. Or fear me.I don’t care.All I care about is the silence waiting inside the house.I step over the threshold. The gate clangs shut behind me with a finality that rings in my bones.Inside, the hall feel
Last Updated : 2025-11-10 Read more