He Tortured, Her Unexpected

He Tortured, Her Unexpected

Gavin

5.0
Comment(s)
8.4K
View
24
Chapters

Three years in gilded-cage Florence. Now I was back in Napa Valley, clutching my wedding invitation. My adoptive parents had exiled me with a brutal command: "Don't come back until Ethan is purged from your heart." I was here to marry Noah Williams, Ethan's best friend, proving I had moved on from my devastating, unrequited love for my adoptive brother. But then I saw him, at his family vineyard, his new, very public actress girlfriend, Brooke, clinging to him. He smirked, pulled her into a passionate kiss right in front of me, then scoffed when I presented my invitation. He ripped it to shreds, calling it a "pathetic stunt" to get his attention. From that moment, his cruelty, fueled by Brooke's manipulative games, became relentless. At poolside parties, at my final dress fitting, they mocked my engagement, fabricating lies, even allowing Brooke to physically harm me. He believed every accusation, every feigned sob, leaving me injured and humiliated. "Stop the theatrics, Ava," he'd sneered, ignoring my bleeding arm, rushing Brooke to safety over a minor scratch. My own adoptive parents silently approved of my torment, concerned only with their perfect family image. How could the boy who once protected me become this cold, heartless stranger? Why did he refuse to believe I had moved on? Every act of cruelty, every dismissal, twisted the knife of a love I was desperate to bury. My past with him was a nightmare that wouldn't end. On my wedding day, just before the ceremony, he abandoned me yet again for Brooke's false emergency, convinced I wouldn't go through with it. But as his car pulled away, a quiet resolve settled within me. His final act of abandonment was my true release. I was finally free. And he would never have power over me again.

Introduction

Three years in gilded-cage Florence. Now I was back in Napa Valley, clutching my wedding invitation. My adoptive parents had exiled me with a brutal command: "Don't come back until Ethan is purged from your heart." I was here to marry Noah Williams, Ethan's best friend, proving I had moved on from my devastating, unrequited love for my adoptive brother.

But then I saw him, at his family vineyard, his new, very public actress girlfriend, Brooke, clinging to him. He smirked, pulled her into a passionate kiss right in front of me, then scoffed when I presented my invitation. He ripped it to shreds, calling it a "pathetic stunt" to get his attention.

From that moment, his cruelty, fueled by Brooke's manipulative games, became relentless. At poolside parties, at my final dress fitting, they mocked my engagement, fabricating lies, even allowing Brooke to physically harm me. He believed every accusation, every feigned sob, leaving me injured and humiliated. "Stop the theatrics, Ava," he'd sneered, ignoring my bleeding arm, rushing Brooke to safety over a minor scratch. My own adoptive parents silently approved of my torment, concerned only with their perfect family image.

How could the boy who once protected me become this cold, heartless stranger? Why did he refuse to believe I had moved on? Every act of cruelty, every dismissal, twisted the knife of a love I was desperate to bury. My past with him was a nightmare that wouldn't end.

On my wedding day, just before the ceremony, he abandoned me yet again for Brooke's false emergency, convinced I wouldn't go through with it. But as his car pulled away, a quiet resolve settled within me. His final act of abandonment was my true release. I was finally free. And he would never have power over me again.

Continue Reading

Other books by Gavin

More
The Hummingbird's Broken Song

The Hummingbird's Broken Song

Short stories

5.0

I gave up everything for him. My spot at the world' s most prestigious art conservation guild, five grueling years working three dead-end jobs – all to pay off the $50,000 "debt" from my boyfriend Liam' s "failed startup." Tonight, I held the final cash payment, ready for our new beginning. But when I arrived at the exclusive VIP lounge to meet his "loan shark," my world imploded. Liam wasn' t the struggling entrepreneur I knew. He was in a tailored suit, laughing with a socialite, Chloe. And his "loan shark"? Just an employee bowing to him. Then I heard his voice, cold and smooth: "Another fifty K from the little workhorse. She actually did it." My sweat, my exhaustion, my sacrificed dreams-all a cruel joke. They had used me. And then, the sickening climax: his plan for "phase two," a fake $100,000 "debt" to "keep her busy, keep her grateful." The delicate touch of my hands, capable of restoring centuries-old masterpieces, now calloused and trembling with a rage so profound it stole my breath. How could the man I loved orchestrate such a monstrous deception? How could he watch me suffer for years and feel nothing but contempt? My entire life felt like a meticulously constructed lie. But from the ashes of betrayal, a new fire ignited. That $50,000 wasn't for him. It was mine. A desperate call to my old mentor offered a lifeline: a job across the ocean. I wouldn't cower. I was taking my life back, reclaiming my destiny, and I would face him one last time before soaring free.

You'll also like

Chapters
Read Now
Download Book