All Chapters of The Time Pawnshop at the End of the Alley: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The crushing pain in my broken fingers made my vision go black.My cheek was pressed against the cold counter, and Shane Watson still had one hand clamped around the back of my neck.I'd heard a sharp crack just moments ago, like a dry branch snapping in half.Except that sound had come from my own fingers.“Be a good girl. It'll only hurt for a second.”His voice was as gentle as ever, the same voice he'd used to comfort me countless times over the past ten years.“Aria can't wait much longer. The pain in her chest is unbearable.”Tears streamed down my face, mixing with the cold sweat on my skin.I couldn't understand how the man who'd made me soup just yesterday, who'd called me his sweet Wendy, could now crush my fingers without batting an eye.All for another woman.Aria Lane.A flash of bloodred light swept across the bronze scale. The pain in my broken fingers seemed to be pulled from my body, turned into something that could be bought and sold.Behind the counter, t

He crouched beside me and examined the cut on my forehead, frowning slightly.“Why can't you be more careful?”There was a note of blame in his voice, as though the whole thing had been my fault.“Can't you just behave yourself for once? I've already got enough to deal with because of Aria. I don't need you making things harder.”I stared at him.Whatever love I'd still been holding on to died right then.Last night, I'd developed a low fever. Every bone in my body ached, and I lay curled beneath the covers, shivering uncontrollably.Shane came in and felt my forehead.For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. But whatever hesitation he'd felt quickly disappeared.He took out his phone and showed me a video.Aria was lying in a hospital bed, her face deathly pale. She was coughing so violently, with traces of blood around her mouth.“Look at her.”Shane's voice came from above me, strained with emotion.“Every time she coughs, it kills me to watch. Wendy, we have to s

Mr. Black's words stirred something deep inside me, breaking through the numbness I'd felt for so long.Shane spun around. The moment he spotted me standing in the shadows, his expression darkened.He instinctively started toward me, but his steps were unsteady. It was as though taking off that ring had already drained some of his strength.“Wendy! What are you doing here?”His voice carried that familiar note of disapproval, along with a hint of panic he couldn't quite hide. He was trying to intimidate me, just as he always had.But I didn't look at him.Instead, I looked past him, straight into Mr. Black's unreadable eyes.“His health.”My throat was dry, but my voice came out steady.“I want to take all of his health. Every last bit.”The room went silent.Shane stared at me as though he hadn't heard me correctly.Or perhaps he simply couldn't believe what I'd said.His anger gave way to shock.“Wendy Luther! Do you have any idea what you're saying?!”Mr. Black's unse

He was lying in the guest bedroom until Aria complained that his coughing was disturbing her rest and kicked him out.Now he had no choice but to curl up on the living room couch, buried under thick blankets and still shivering from the cold.Aria hardly came out of her room anymore.Even when she did, she kept her distance, frowning slightly and covering her nose and mouth with a silk handkerchief, as though she were afraid of catching something from him.Funny how her dizzy spells seemed to have become less frequent, too.Whenever Shane called for her, she took her time answering. And when she brought him water, it was always either too hot or too cold.“Aria...” Shane's voice was painfully hoarse, almost pleading. “Could you get me my medicine?”Aria was busy examining her complexion in a small mirror.She clicked her tongue impatiently.“Just a minute! Can't you see I'm busy?”She took her sweet time before finally bringing him the bottle, setting it down with an exaggera

“Just looking at you makes me sick! You're broke, you're powerless, and you're practically dead already! You think I'm going down with you?”Shane hunched over, coughing violently. He reached for her arm, his voice full of desperation.“Aria, you can't do this. You said...”“What did I say?”Aria jerked her arm away so forcefully that he stumbled backward and nearly fell.“I said I liked you because you had money and power! What do you have now, huh? Besides that pathetic body that's barely holding together, what have you got left?”Every word stripped away what little dignity he had left.“No. You said you saved my life...”Shane struggled to breathe, each word coming out with a wet, painful rasp.“Saved your life?”Aria burst into laughter, her voice rising sharply through the quiet night.“If you hadn't had money back then, you think I would've wanted anything to do with you? If I'd known you'd turn out to be this useless, I would've just let you die in that car!”Shane