my new life. As I stood up, the ring Bennet had just placed on my finger, he

g for me. My finger was a size si

ical gesture, he hadn't even remembered my ring size

ide. The button for the GPS tracker, I assumed. But the message he'd received, the s

bled as I pres

racker. It wa

and I have this terrible headache, Bennet. The doctor said i

od ran

e when I had nightmares. "But please, darling, be a good girl. Go back

me, giving me a manor, and she w

I don' t want to be locked up in that cabin anym

a mixture of exasperation and affection. "I'

. The same one that had brought me here. He was leavi

after a bad day, flying us over the city lights. He' d hold me and wh

He was the hard times. He was

anking sharply and landing less than a mile away. I walked to the edge of the property, my f

cal to mine. A mirror

my hand crackl

Gianna' s voice was full of genui

nniversary gift. 'Gianna' s Paradise.' I'

zed. A text

running long. I' ll be thinking of yo

tical mansions, shower two women with identical lavish gifts, but he could onl

The other woman

ed over me. I felt cheap,

s replaced by something

ainful, degrading li

k toward the house he had built for me. I wiped the

for me, a perfect replica of my old workspace. But inst

ew design, one born from wreckage and resilience. A structure that wa

n I finally finished the initial sketch, I stretched, my hand

hen pressed th

ding like this, while she gets to be by your side in public. I want

ess. She wasn' t content with having hi

t of me still hoped he had a line he wouldn' t cross. He wouldn' t da

ng silence on

s voice, low

kay

hat on

k

f hope in my heart. It felt like he had reached in