She Took Him, I Took Their World Novels & Stories

Not only did they speak to me harshly, but they made do all the heavy lifting when I was heavily pregnant, claiming it would help with delivery. I kept giving in to them, but they only became more ruthless. It wasn't until that Christmas in my previous life, when they abandoned me in that shoving crowd and left me to be trampled to death, that I finally saw their true nature. This time around, they wouldn't have it so easy. Oliver's face lit up with greedy confidence as he glanced at those gift boxes. "Mom, you're absolutely right. The mall wouldn't put on this big event without putting good stuff in these boxes. Did you forget about the gold bracelet I scored last time?"

“Then you’ll still have changed the world.” She kissed him. Slow. Certain. And for one brief moment, she allowed herself to believe that everything broken could still be rebuilt.

"Then you will lose everything, if I don’t rise, we fall." "You’re wrong," I whispered. "I can make it on my own." "No," she snapped. "From the beginning of time, we were destined to be one. It is not a question of if, but when. You either accept me now or I take over completely with force." She turned without another word, leaving me there. I screamed. "Hey! Come back! You can't leave me here!" She didn’t turn, her large strides took her away in seconds. And before I could stop myself, I slipped.

“With you.” He pulled her into his arms, holding her as if she were the only thing anchoring him to this world. And maybe she was. They kissed—not with urgency, but with something far deeper. Something whole. When they broke apart, she rested her forehead against his. “We’re almost free,” she whispered. “Almost,” he said. “But I’ll burn the rest of the world down to get us there.”

“He was the one who wasn’t enough. Not you.” I couldn’t believe these words were coming from her. “I made my peace with you years ago, child. I just never said it. He didn’t deserve you then, and he certainly doesn’t now.” She took another drag. “You have strength. Use this money. Build something for yourself. It’s not too late to start.” A bus rumbled into the bay, its doors hissing open. I looked at her one last time, then at the check in my hand. I turned and walked into the shadowy interior of the bus.

"I did not win him." "You did." Her voice cracked and her eyes were wet. "You took him from me. You took everything from me." I looked at her and my voice was flat. "I did not take anything from you. He was never yours to take." "He was supposed to be mine." "He was never going to be yours." She shook her head and her hair fell across her face. "You do not understand. You do not understand what it is like to wait for something your whole life and then watch someone else take it."

Confession dressed up as tragedy, blame dressed up as illness—the kind of story designed specifically to make everyone feel compassion for such a beautiful, innocent, damaged young woman. In another life, I might have fallen for it. But not this one. Not knowing what I knew. She looked up at him then, a single tear coming loose and streaking down her cheek. It caught the light as it fell, shimmering briefly like a little diamond, before it plopped directly into her coffee with a small sploosh. “I want to be a good mother to Lucas,” she whispered. “I know I don’t deserve a second chance at anything else. But I’m not the same person I was then, Adrian. I promise you that much, at least.”

“You’re mine, Mia. And I’ll burn the world before I let anyone take you from me.” Her breath caught, and for a moment, the storm outside seemed to quiet in her eyes. But I knew it was only the beginning.

The transaction was a smooth one, because my opinion was not being considered here, rather, my father’s selfish quest was all that seemed to matter at the moment. “From now on wards, she is yours.” I wonder if my father knows this man. There weren’t acting as though they knew each other, and the man seemed to be a man of few words. He wasn’t doing the talking, and my father was neither making big talks here. He wanted it smooth, and it had just worked out, because I wasn’t mad enough to fight my way out of the hall and flee for my dear life. “Take her to the van.” The man said, and the man on suit held my hand and dragged me out of the hall.

The sea below was a violent surge of waves, dark and bottomless. I turned one last time to look at the chaotic crowd, almost imagining Timoteo rushing toward me. He taught me how to shoot, how to kill, and how to be ruthless, but he never taught me how to stop loving him or forgive myself. I released my grip on the rocks and let my body fall backward into the tumultuous sea below. The moment the water engulfed me, the world grew quiet. This was for the best. From this moment on, we owed each other nothing.