Shattered Love, A Monster's Reign

Pace

od before a small, newly placed headstone in a quiet corner of the city's oldest cemetery. The name carved there, "Valentine," was

rest. His apathy was a wound that refused to heal. My fingers traced the smooth, cold stone,

lly. "We'll name him Alexander," he'd said, "a warrior's name. I'll protect him from everything, Elena. From

n't just broken his promises to me; he had broken them to our unborn

. My breath hitched. Christian. And beside him, her. Blair Mayo, looking demure and innocent in

f sorrow. They stopped, not at my baby's grave, but at a generic, unmarked plot nearby, layi

I demanded, my voice sharp,

. Blair, seeing me, clutched Christian' s arm

n said, his tone annoyingly placid. "

hom? Your conscience? Or the lie you've built?" My gaze flick

dent! I didn't mean for anything to happen!" She b

closer, his arm wrapping around her protecti

h disbelief. "She murdered our child, C

She's delicate, Elena. Not like you." He pushed me roughly, causing me to stu

loded behind my eyes. The pain was searing, but the wo

amed, the words tearing through my thro

grabbed my shoulders, shaking me violently. "He was an inconvenience! A probl

venience? The man who had cradled my belly, who had promised fierce protec

ealization hitting me like a physical blow. "You fell for her wh

igging into my flesh. "Be quiet, Elena! Y

was too strong. My vision tunneled. Black spots danced before my eyes. Thi

his eyes: a flicker of panic, a fleeting second of horror. He was losi

, gasping for air, clutching my burning thro

stop! You'll hurt yourself!" She glanced at me, a venomous triumph in her inn

e... accident. But you can't blame Christian. He's been so good to me, trying to help me get

s a "reincarnation charm," a tiny, symbolic prayer I had painstakingly crafted for my baby, h

er. A cruel smirk played on her lips. She delibera

lunged, a surge of adrenaline coursing through my battered body.

you trying to curse me, Elena?" She stumbled backward, deliberately bumping

tly onto my folded charm, grinding it into the dirt. "Oops," s

d. My son's last ho

he silent cemetery, sharp and loud. Blair's head s

und, sobbing theatrically. "She hit me! Christian, she hit me! And she c

ed, tears streaming down my face. "He

ulled me away, his grip bruising. "You think you can just come here and desecrate this holy ground with your bit

any blow. "You think you're religious, Elena? You think your God would approve

I stared at him, at the man I had once loved, the man who was now a stranger. H

hope and love, was no