Ashton's Betrayal, Her Unyielding Vengeance

is

he wound on my arm healed, a jagged scar mirroring the one carved into my hea

came. Ashto

coat, practically radiated smug satisfaction. On her left hand, the engagement ring glitter

d decipher. He didn' t ask about my arm. Didn't ask if I w

you recovering?" It was a formality, a que

d and flat as his. "Bullet wounds heal.

o dramatic! Ashton was just trying to protect me. You understand, don't you? A woman in my position..." S

imply more... expendable." The words were laced with v

small, delicate design – a stylized phoenix, rising from ashes. Ashton had give

hat dreadful little thing?" She leaned closer, her nose wrinkling in dista

dable. A flicker of something, a ghost of memory,

I stated, my voice sharp. "A

to him, her voice a soft, manipulative purr, "you have such excellent tast

die and my wrist. The air in the room grew heavy, thick with unspoken t

deliberate movement that

e devoid of emotion. "Send for the tattoo

mal scream trapped in my throat. This wasn't just ink. It

mine. It was a fleeting, almost imperceptible shift, but it was there. A ghost of regret, p

ain, colder than before. "It's a relic of the past, Iris," he said, h

lips. "It's for the best.

minutes, a lean, artistic-looking man with a tattoo gun case arrived. He

u sure? This design... it's quite unique. And the skin here

ke ice. "Just cover it. With something... neu

n's, pleading, desperate. "A

eeling. "There is no 'ours', Iris. Not a

f my soul. I watched in the mirror as the delicate phoenix, the symbol of my resilience, of our shared past, was slowly obliterated. A blac

assurances. She smiled up at him, her face full of adorat

hoenix was gone, replaced by a dark, ugly blotch. A scar on a

.. nothing. Exactly as it should be." She turned to Ashton, a possessive gleam

ze distant. "Indeed,

llusion. He had systematically dismantled every piece of my life, every shred of my iden