جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Sara Michaels Sara sat in the cold hospital corridor with her knees pulled to her chest, staring at the white tile floor like it held answers. Her phone was still clutched in her hand from the call that had ripped her out of the house. The emergency call had come just minutes after the wine bottle shattered…She heard her mom’s voice, it was so weak, breathless: “Sara… come quickly. I'm dying.” Sara had barely registered Mariah’s photo falling from her pocket. One glance at the old childhood picture of her younger self smiling in a strange garden she didn't recall. Her stomach had twisted even tighter. How did Mariah have that? Why would she carry it? But before Sara could open her mouth to ask, the phone rang again, and everything else disappeared. Now here she was, guilt chewing at her insides. She could feel the judgemental stares from everyone who was passing by. Everyone knew who she was. Mrs McCarthy. And now, she felt like she owed the world an explanation as to why a to

Tom McCarthy I sat in the glass-walled office on the forty-second floor, in New York city. The new app was almost ready, the only thing that was needed was one more round of bug fixes and we’d launch to the investors. A move that would make me a billionaire….And I would finally buy back Sara's company as our anniversary gift. I remember how she and her mom sold it without thinking twice just to save my company, I can't even begin to explain what would have happened if I went bankrupt. My family's legacy would have been trashed. I owed Sara and her mom the best care in this world. I’d been on this trip for two weeks, sleeping four hours a night, living on coffee I barely liked. I missed Sara's coffee. The computer screen glowed with lines of code. I kept typing, deleting, and typing again for what felt like hours. The door opened without a knock. I looked up, feeling annoyed. I didn't like being disturbed. Only Sara or my personal assistant, Mike Johnson was allowed to enter

Sara Michaels I pressed my palms over my ears, trying to block out the sounds drifting down from upstairs. Emily’s giggles, mixed with soft moans that made my stomach turn. Tom’s low voice answered her in a very intimate and possessive way. Something I thought he would only do with me. I could not believe to imagine what was probably going on in there. But it made my heart bleed. "Tom...Stooooppp....It tickles..." Emily exclaimed, her high pitched voice was shaky. Their bed…the bed that used to be mine…creaked rhythmically. I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t want to hear this. Didn’t want to imagine him touching her the way he once touched me. The way he promised he always would. My phone alarm suddenly cut through the noise, sharp and insistent. I jumped, heart racing. I had completely forgotten. “ The appointment.” I face palmed myself. I needed to get checked. My periods hadn’t come in a month. Stress, probably. Or maybe… No. I pushed the thought away. I couldn’t be pregnan

Kingsley SalvatoreI woke up with Sara's name already in my head.Damn it, I knew it was weird because she is married.I lay there staring at the ceiling, with one arm thrown over my eyes, trying to push the image away. It didn’t work. She was there…clear as yesterday. Those glacier-blue eyes red from crying she tried to hide. The way her voice shook when she talked about how passionate she was about coding , like she was learning in order to set herself free. The quiet way she held that class card like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.I rolled onto my side, sheets twisting around my legs.She looked so damn distressed and fragile, and completely broken. There was something stubborn under all that pain, something that refused to bend. It reminded me of someone else. Someone from four years ago.The memory came so sudden, the way it always did when I let myself remember.I remember the heavy pouring rain, the screeching tires and metal from my car twisting as it

Sara MichaelsThe next morning came too soon.I stood under the shower longer than I should have, letting the hot water pound against my shoulders until my skin turned pink. Yesterday’s cold still lingered in my bones...like the patio water, like Tom’s stare, like Emily’s laugh echoing in my ears. I scrubbed hard, as if soap could wash away the humiliation, the memory of standing soaked and shivering while they watched from above.When I stepped out, steam fogged the mirror. I wiped a circle with my palm and looked at myself.Tired but not defeated.I opened the closet. My clothes...once neatly organized, now shoved to one side to make room for Emily’s endless designer pieces...felt foreign. I hadn’t worn anything nice in weeks. Hadn’t wanted to. What was the point when every day felt like punishment?But today… today was different. I had class.Kingsley’s academy. 10 a.m. sharp.I deserved to look like a person, not a broken thing.I pulled out a pair of skinny jeans I hadn’t touche