The Girl Who Wouldn't Break

The Girl Who Wouldn't Break

Gavin

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For three years, I existed as a quiet shadow in Ethan Hayes' s glittering New York world, always present, always available, my life a series of unspoken duties. Each one was a sacred notch on a silent, relentless tally, a life-debt I, Willow Miller, was bound to repay stemming from a long-forgotten act of kindness. But on a brutal winter night, amidst a biting New York blizzard, Ethan' s words cut deeper than the wind: "Scarlett' s back. Not some... substitute." He didn't just dismiss me; he dragged me into his penthouse, then publicly offered me to his business partner, Liam Donovan, with the chilling disdain one reserves for an unwanted stray, before ordering me to "get lost and never bother him again." I stood freezing, enduring every cruel word, every public humiliation, every demand – from wading into an icy river for a worthless charm to being paraded as a scapegoat at a society gallery. Why, you ask, would anyone endure such degradation, such ceaseless torment, for a man who clearly saw me as nothing more than an implement, a disposable stand-in? It wasn't love or devotion, but a binding promise rooted in my secluded Meadowbrook community' s oldest laws: a life-debt, the "Hundred Favors," owed for a simple sandwich given to a starving traveler years ago. Completing this impossible count was my only path home, the sole way to break free from this gilded cage and reclaim my true self. Now, with 97 favors behind me, just three stood between me and my freedom, forcing me to wonder if his next cruel demand would finally shatter me, or if I would endure and return to the home I so desperately yearned for.

Introduction

For three years, I existed as a quiet shadow in Ethan Hayes' s glittering New York world, always present, always available, my life a series of unspoken duties.

Each one was a sacred notch on a silent, relentless tally, a life-debt I, Willow Miller, was bound to repay stemming from a long-forgotten act of kindness.

But on a brutal winter night, amidst a biting New York blizzard, Ethan' s words cut deeper than the wind: "Scarlett' s back. Not some... substitute."

He didn't just dismiss me; he dragged me into his penthouse, then publicly offered me to his business partner, Liam Donovan, with the chilling disdain one reserves for an unwanted stray, before ordering me to "get lost and never bother him again."

I stood freezing, enduring every cruel word, every public humiliation, every demand – from wading into an icy river for a worthless charm to being paraded as a scapegoat at a society gallery.

Why, you ask, would anyone endure such degradation, such ceaseless torment, for a man who clearly saw me as nothing more than an implement, a disposable stand-in?

It wasn't love or devotion, but a binding promise rooted in my secluded Meadowbrook community' s oldest laws: a life-debt, the "Hundred Favors," owed for a simple sandwich given to a starving traveler years ago.

Completing this impossible count was my only path home, the sole way to break free from this gilded cage and reclaim my true self.

Now, with 97 favors behind me, just three stood between me and my freedom, forcing me to wonder if his next cruel demand would finally shatter me, or if I would endure and return to the home I so desperately yearned for.

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My world revolved around Jax Harding, my older brother's captivating rockstar friend. From sixteen, I adored him; at eighteen, I clung to his casual promise: "When you're 22, maybe I'll settle down." That offhand comment became my life's beacon, guiding every choice, meticulously planning my twenty-second birthday as our destiny. But on that pivotal day in a Lower East Side bar, clutching my gift, my dream exploded. I overheard Jax' s cold voice: "Can't believe Savvy's showing up. She' s still hung up on that stupid thing I said." Then the crushing plot: "We' re gonna tell Savvy I' m engaged to Chloe, maybe even hint she' s pregnant. That should scare her off." My gift, my future, slipped from my numb fingers. I fled into the cold New York rain, devastated by betrayal. Later, Jax introduced Chloe as his "fiancée" while his bandmates mocked my "adorable crush"-he did nothing. As an art installation fell, he saved Chloe, abandoning me to severe injury. In the hospital, he came for "damage control," then shockingly shoved me into a fountain, leaving me to bleed, calling me a "jealous psycho." How could the man I loved, who once saved me, become this cruel and publicly humiliate me? Why was my devotion seen as an annoyance to be brutally extinguished with lies and assault? Was I just a problem, my loyalty met with hatred? I would not be his victim. Injured and betrayed, I made an unshakeable vow: I was done. I blocked his number and everyone connected to him, severing ties. This was not an escape; this was my rebirth. Florence awaited, a new life on my terms, unburdened by broken promises.

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