บททั้งหมดของ After He Let Me Fall : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

NYLA“You're the first woman to ever attend her own memorial,” Kael joked about the situation. I watched the memorial from a distance, far enough to stay invisible, but also close enough to feel the insult of all of it press against me.Everything was white. White chairs. White flowers. White linen stretched across the yard of the house I used to live in. Evans’ house. It was never a home to me, it was my cage. That led to my death. People moved slowly, their voices hushed, their faces arranged into sorrowful looks. It looked convincing.They were mourning me.Men who had toasted with Evans weeks after my disappearance. Women who had whispered about my marriage while pretending to pray for my soul. Friends who had accepted explanations without questions. And then, a best friend who I once called sister. Who had smiled at me as her hands pushed me into nothing.My fingers curled into my palm. I tried not to cry, even when my body shook, even when I felt my chest physically tighten at

KAELNyla stood barefoot in the kitchen, one hip resting against the counter, arms folded as the morning news murmured from the large screen mounted above the wine rack. Sunlight spilled in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, catching in her hair, turning the strands soft gold. She looked calm, almost serene, but I could see the tension in the way she glanced at the screen every few seconds. It was as if she was waiting for a bad news to happen.“…spreading rapidly across social media,” the anchor said. “Old interviews have resurfaced, with critics pointing out Evans Morgan’s dismissive comments about women—”Nyla let out a quiet, humorless laugh.“That was fast,” she said. Her voice stayed light, but her eyes stayed locked on the screen. “Faster than I expected.”I had just finished my workout, sweat still cooling on my skin, my pulse steady but alert. I leaned against the doorframe, watching her instead of the television. The way her shoulders rose and fell. The way something shar

NYLAKael didn’t let go of my hand when we stepped out of the charity hall.The doors closed behind us, muting the storm we’d left inside, but I could still feel the shock, the whispers, the disbelief rolling through the crowd like aftershocks from an earthquake. My name had been spoken too many times in too many tones. I was alive. And everyone knew it now.“Easy,” he murmured, thumb brushing my knuckles. “Don’t look back.”I didn’t need to. I could still see Evans’s face burning behind my eyelids. That frozen, mortified look. The man who always believed the world would rearrange itself to protect him, suddenly realizing it wouldn’t.I couldn’t stop smiling. I tried but it kept pulling at my mouth, stretching the corner of my lips wide.Kael guided me toward the car, his hand firm around mine, steady in a way that told me he’d expected this reaction. Like he’d known I would crack open the moment the doors closed.“Did you see them?” I asked, my voice breathless, almost giddy.He gl

NYLA“What a silly joke,” I laughed hard, slapping my thighs. It came out wrong, it was shaky, almost hysterical, but I still continued regardless. “Nyla….” Kael started.“You’re lying,” I said, the word stumbling out of me. “You’re just making things up.”Kael didn’t flinch. His face was stiff with seriousness. I stopped laughing, returning back his gaze.“I wish I were. God, Nyla, I want nothing more than to be lying right now.” he said quietly.I shook my head hard. “No. This is my life we're talking about here. You can't rewrite my life just like that.” My throat tightened, I could feel the tears at the back of my throat.He took a step toward me.Instinct kicked in, and I stepped back. I held my hands up, signaling him to stay exactly where he stood, cause I needed space.“Don’t, please.” I said. He stopped immediately, hands dropping to his sides, his face tight with something that looked like regret and restraint all twisted together.“You deserve the truth, I didn't want to

NYLA“Ugh,” I woke slowly.Everything felt thick. My limbs weighed too much. My head throbbed in dull, ugly pulses that made me squeeze my eyes shut again before opening them properly. My mouth tasted bitter with the aftertaste of the alcohol. Then the memory followed right after.Evans’ disgusting hand on my waist.The pressure of his palm pressing down on me. The way it had felt familiar for a split second, familiarity betraying me, before disgust rolled through my stomach and turned it hard.I sucked in a breath and opened my eyes widely.The room wasn’t the bar or the penthouse. The ceiling above me was pale, and unfamiliar. The sheets were soft, tucked in properly. The air smelled faintly like soap.I lay there for a moment, staring, letting it sink in. I didn't know if I was safe. Did I follow Evan?The realization didn’t come with shock right away. It came with shaking. My fingers curled into the sheets like I needed proof I was still here. That I hadn’t followed Evans out int