e?" Kane's voice, sharp and acc

l, the crushing weight of his indifference-it all choked me. My desperate plea for understanding, for a glimpse of the man I on

at me as if I were a pest, an unwanted intrusion. The love I had once seen there, the

oken wooden bird. Instead, his foot swept it aside, sending the shattered pi

's happening? You're ruining everything. Francesca is finally on the path to recovery, an

he spat, his voice dripping with venom. "Always the victim, always playing for sympathy." He then forced my head up

izing slowness, he crushed it further in his hand, the sound of splintering wood a sickening crunch. Tiny shards flew, some catc

uced to shattered wood and bitter lies. It was over. Truly, irrevo

chamber, locked in, with guards posted outside. My daughter, Cora, was kept from m

e symbols and intricate runes on the walls, on Francesca's clothes, even on her skin. Each drop of my blood, each vibrant crimson stroke, felt like

ispered reassurances. He was gentle, affectionate, everything he had ceased to be for me. Yet, any minor complaint f

d enough for me to hear through the thick walls. "I think Elaina i

ury. "Francesca' s levels are dropping again. What ar

ver me, right in the healing chamber. The shock of the freezing water made my already aching bones scream. My blood, thinned and weakened, felt like it was freezing in my vein

as I shivered uncontrollably, my teeth chattering. "You need to stay al

tool. I looked back at my life, at the choices I had made. Had I truly been so impulsive, so naive, to believe

e mistake. A desperate grasp at a ghost that was never truly there. Now, there wa