'When all love does is break, what hope do we have?' They fell apart. They picked themselves up and tried to move on. They survived. And then they met yet again, a little older, yet foolish as ever, but perhaps it is this encounter that they needed, to bring them to a vastly different beginning.
"This was more so poison than love
What one might call a toxic love
But just as a drug addict might shout
He was too painful to live without"
I sipped the cold beer while staring out the window. The streetlights flickered as the occasional car raced through the otherwise empty roads as the rain drenched the pavement in a vengeful torrent.
I hate beer, but I clutched the bottle tighter.
How easy would it be for all of this to come to an end? Tracing my fingers along the droplets rolling down the glass to wherever gravity took them, I sighed. I knew this would start up again too.
Everything was turning to shit, and that included my brain.
///
The sweater I had pulled on was as grey as the sky turned out to be this morning. Brooding in soft rumbles, the chilly winds forced my hands to be buried in the depths of my jean pockets.
Walking down the bridge, my eyes lingered on the ripples on the surface of the water as a family of ducks waddled between the reeds on the side of the river. Getting to the other side, I turned to the left, as I did every morning, my feet in no hurry.
Most of the other stores were still closed, but as I pushed the doors open, the aroma of fresh coffee wafted through the air, as it did every morning, alongside the clinking of cups and saucers.
I could never get here earlier than Jemma, no matter how I tried.
"Morning Em!" I grimaced, I forgot that she called me that too, "The croissant and coffee are already in your office!"
"Thanks Jemma!" Grabbing the stack of letters on the counter, I started walking towards the office.
"Hey, are we all still on next Saturday? You and Will haven't confirmed yet, and Sally needs to book the table."
Oh right, dinner. The high school 'friends' reunion. Yay. I had been meaning to ask him about that, and now, well, I guess it's too late.
"Tell Sally we won't be making it, " taking a deep breath, I turned to Jemma, the edges of my lips trembling, "Will's gone, Jemma. He's gone."
Then, before she could say anything, the door was slammed shut and locked behind me, as I crumbled to the ground, the letters scattering all around me.
All of it had turned to shit. All of it.
///
It didn't even take five minutes. How could that be?
How could someone go from being the person that meant everything to you to a stranger in under five minutes?
Sipping the cold coffee, I tore open each envelope, stacking the letters into another one of those 'Monday piles'. That's probably how easy it was for him to walk out the door, not even a single glance in my direction, without even a shred of hesitation.
I was no longer Em, I was just Emily. Just the girl he once knew. So easily. I don't think I could ever understand.
The teardrops were threatening to spill, blurring my vision. For the first time in a very long time, the place I once called home wasn't home anymore.
And I don't know if I'll ever have a home again.
Running my finger along the edge of the letter opener lost in thought, the tip almost pierced my skin. I held my breath, and just for that moment------no. Flinging it on the table, I wrapped both my hands around the cup. I can't.
No matter what, I can't.
Look at me. I can't even make it through a single day.
///
Walking over the bridge again, the sky now the darkest shade of blue, I stared at murky yellow streaks of the streetlights reflecting on the water's surface. The evening felt even colder than before, a new kind of chill settling into my bones.
I guess this was how it was going to be from now on.
Jemma didn't ask too many questions, which I was grateful for, not that I could have answered them if she had asked. It's not like he gave me an explanation for tossing me aside.
I guess that's all the sum of all our moments meant to him in the end.
And he cleared his canvas, leaving me to hold the broken pieces. And like a fool, I cling to them for every breath.
Clinging to the Em that had already been destroyed and disposed.
Everything good has a catch, and I knew that. So why did I fool myself into thinking that he'd be any different?
Why?
///
Pulling the blanket around my waist, I leaned against the pillow, making myself comfortable on the dark grey couch we had picked out together around four years ago, as we slowly pieced this apartment together.
And that too would soon be just a distant memory made to be filed away, like I was.
If hell exists, this must be what it's like. Haunted by every memory of the person that cut you the deepest, and yet was so inextricably a part of you that losing him was losing a part of yourself, in every corner you turn. And even then, when you try to escape by closing your eyes, all you see is the flicker of him under the veil of eyelids.
My brain was working in overdrive, pulling image after image after image, in an almost accusatory tone, questioning, 'how dare you let him go?'
Yes. How dare I let him go? How dare I?
How dare I believe that for once, just once, someone would choose to stay?
A curse is what it is. It has to be. I wonder if any of me would be left once life decides to stop simply taking and taking and just taking from me. I've got nothing left to give.
The pitter-patter of the raindrops started up once again. I guess there'll be another downpour again tonight. As the lull of the rain drew my eyelids close, my eyes lingered on the gap between the door and the floor, the corridor light peeking through.
My ears were straining for them, the soft shuffle that made its way up those stairs, to this very door every day.
Except today.
He was actually gone.
"Never let anyone treat you like shit!" I learned that the hard way. For three years, I lived with my in-laws. They didn't treat me as their son-in-law but as a slave. I put up with everything because of my wife, Yolanda Lambert. She was the light of my life. Unfortunately, my whole world came crashing down the day I caught my wife cheating on me. I have never been so heartbroken. To have my revenge, I revealed my true identity. I was none other than Liam Hoffman—the heir of a family with trillions of dollars in assets! The Lamberts were utterly shocked after the big reveal. They realized what fools they had been for treating me like trash. My wife even knelt down and begged for my forgiveness. What do you think I did? Did I take her back or made her suffer? Find out!
For as long as Emily can remember, she has wanted to overcome her shyness and explore her sexuality. Still, everything changes when she receives an invitation to visit one of the town's most prestigious BDSM clubs, DESIRE'S DEN. On the day she chose to peruse the club, she noticed three men, all dressed in suits, standing on the upper level, near the railing. Despite her limited vision, she persisted in fixating on them. Their towering statues belied the toned bodies concealed by their sharply tailored suits-or so she could tell. The hair of two of them was short and dark, and the third had light brown-possibly blond-hair that reached the shoulders. The dark, crimson background incised their figures, exuding an air of mystery and strength. They stood in stark contrast to the unfiltered, primal energy that pulsed through the club. Shocked by the desires these men aroused in her, she was disappointed to learn that they were masters seeking a slave to divide and conquer. She couldn't afford the fee, and she also realized that they were outside her league. Emily hurriedly left the club, feeling disappointed and depressed, unaware that she had also caught the group's attention. A world of wicked pleasure, three handsome men. Over the years, they have lived a life of decadence, their lavish lair serving as a stage for their most sinister desires. But despite the unending parade of willing subjects, one woman sticks out. A mysterious stranger with white porcelain skin and a killer body, a slave, a name with no address, the first lady to attract their eye and they will go to any length to obtain her no matter the consequences.
P-please, I beg you. Come let's go tell Christian I had no hand in whatever happened, p-please." I clutched the lapel of his jacket desperately. "Let's go. You need to tell my husband you were paid." "Young lady, you're harassing me." His tone was cold and his stare granite. But I could care less. "You harassed me first! You had sex with me without my consent, my husband knows and now I'm pregnant with this child he doesn't want. You ruined my marriage! I-I hate you!" ************************************ Caught by her husband with another man on their matrimonial bed the morning after her birthday, Hailey Codza could not defend herself. As though it's not enough, she gets pregnant. Her enraged husband decides to pay her back for her infidelity by having an affair with his ex-girlfriend - Denise Kellers, the family Hailey never knew she had. Losing her family's wealth and company to her husband and his ex (now girlfriend), she is devastated, homeless and penniless as all her credit cards are blocked by her husband. She sees the man who is responsible for her pregnancy. The man she has no idea how he'd found his way to her matrimonial bed - Jared Johnson. Jared is annoyed when this strange woman disrupts his meeting and accuses him of ruining her life, marriage and impregnating her. It affects his business deals and having no choice, he marries her to calm the public whilst engaged to someone else. But he loathes her and allows his family treats her badly. Hailey who has fallen in love with Jared is broken when she can no longer take the humiliation. She signs the divorce papers and leaves, only to arrive six years later to the country as a self-made, secret billionaire and a mother of twins. Now her two ex-husbands are begging to have her back...
"The entire wealthy circle in Seattle knew how much Stella Carlson loved Aaron Malone. People watched the childhood sweethearts grow from inexperience to maturity, finally getting married in a grand wedding ceremony. On the day of the wedding, despite the alliance between the Carlson and Malone families, the groom ran away. Stella knew that Aaron had rushed to L.A. to take care of his ex-girlfriend, who had attempted suicide. Unwilling to become the laughingstock of all Seattle, she gritted her teeth and dialed the number of her adversary, her tone almost commanding, "Ethan, come and marry me now. This is your only chance for revenge." On the other end, Ethan Powers raised an eyebrow as he gripped his phone, staring at the floor littered with cigarette butts. "Did the groom run away?" he asked. "My darling."
Gabriella Adams is a normal teenager living her life, but obviously there has to be someone who is always in her way, irritating the hell out of her. Hayden King Her mortal enemy But all that is about to change in ways she didn’t expect. ****** "I hate you". He said. "Definitely not as much as I hate you," I countered back with a scoff, pissed. Who the hell does he think he is? "good ". He responded, causing my head to snap back towards him, and before I could put him in his place, I felt the softness of his lips against mine, knocking my breath away.
On her wedding night, Natalie's stepmother set her up to marry Jarvis, a disfigured and disabled man. Fortunately, she managed to escape, but little did she know that later she would fall for the man she was betrothed to.Jarvis pretended to be a poor man, but he didn't think that he'd fall head over heels for this woman.Their life went on until one day, Natalie found out her boyfriend's little secret."Huh? How could you have billions of dollars' worth of assets?" she asked in disbelief.Jarvis didn’t know how to respond.Being met with silence, she gritted her teeth angrily. "They said that you couldn't walk, but as far as I can see, you're strong enough to run a marathon."Still, he remained silent.Natalie continued, "They even said that you only have a few years to live. What about now?"Finally, Jarvis opened his mouth to explain. "Honey, this is all just a misunderstanding. Please calm down. Think about the baby.""Jarvis Braxton!"The man knelt down immediately.