y Wol

ng like ash in my mouth, "they found

memories. Calvin flinched again, a deep tremor running t

he said if I divorced Calvin, she'd kill herself. She said his money was their only security. My

er mouth. "They actually threatened

d arrived at the apartment the next day, unannounced, their faces contorted with fury and desperation.

d, clutching her chest dramatically. "Do you hear me? If

disgust me, Audrey. You think you're better than us? You think you can jus

terrorism, and the gaping wound in my soul from losing my baby, I felt

ept

y were all just... sucking the life out of me, fighting over the scraps of my existence. I looked at Calvin, the

to my face, his breathing shallow. He

barely audible. "I grabbed the sharpest knife I cou

gled cry. "Audrey! My G

ngle tear escaping and traci

I told him. I said, 'Sign the papers, Calvin. Sign them now. Or I swear to God, I will do it. I will

for me, I realized later. It was for the scandal. For th

voice breaking slightly. "I needed them

cold steel against my skin. The sharp, stinging pain as the blade c

rabbing my arm, forcing the knife away. But it

etreated, their threats momentarily forgotten. I had sacrificed a piece of myself, literally,

leaving behind only a dull ache. Kali

. "My poor, sweet Audrey. Why? Why didn't you

heir crossfire," I said, my voice regaining it

in his hands. His shoulders shook with what looked like genuin

y directed at Calvin. "You stood there and watched her! You let he

ching out to touch her arm g

pays for what he did! I should have been here, Audrey. I should have protect

oice soft. "I'm okay now.

led eyes. "But you didn't have to go through

a small, defiant flicker in m

oor. "I need to go. I c

wrist. "Audrey, please. Don't go. Let me make it up to you. I can still make it up to you.

ssion. The arrogant tech mogul, reduced to a sniveli

ss over your pregnant wife? For letting my parents use me as a bargaining chip? For watching me bleed ju

r shut with a finality that echoed in the

te, but I didn't look back. I hailed a passing

ight. A familiar ache resonated in my chest, not of longing, but of the lingering echoes of what once was, and what could never be again. He was beggin