The Architect Who Rose From Ashes

Merri

ty. My heels clicked on the marble, each step a definitive break from the past. I didn' t look back. I couldn't. The memory of Kade' s sneer and Kyla

meticulously folding my clothes. She looked up, s

pite the tremor running through my hands. "Yo

in the opulent, yet painfully temporary, space. This room, these clothes, this life-none of it

the London firm, accepting their offer. Another to a travel agent for

Before I could even respond, it swung open, revealing Kade. Hi

ow and dangerous, but laced with a hint of confusion. He probably

king up from my phone. The nonchalan

d the phone from my hand. "Packing for what? You can't be serious ab

stomed to seeing. "I'm serious, Kade. I'm leaving. And no, I'm not upset a

talking about? We were childhood friends,

med to having me around? A convenient, compliant wife who never challenged

imson. "Don't you dare," he growled.

rifted from the doorway. "Kade,

y

ith something far more sinister than worry. They met mine, a silent challenge passing between us. I knew th

instantly, his anger at me momentarily forgotten in his

her lips. "Oh, Harper. Leaving so soon? I thought we were celebrating tonight." Her eyes lingered on a box of go

hed in my mind. Kyla' s severe peanut allergy. I remembered how she' d once used

protective instinct kicking in despite

till locked on mine, a knowing, malicious glint in their depths. Then, sudden

idly turning red, then blotchy. "Harper

arper! What have you done?!" He dropped my phone, rushing to Kyla's sid

ut he wasn't listening.

ey met mine, held such utter hatred, such blind accusation, that it stole the air from my lungs. "You

he believed the worst of me, never once questioning Kyla's performance, never once considering that I might be telling the truth. The irony was a bitter taste in my mouth. I, w

myself, not to him. He lived in a world where Kyla was always the victim, and I, the inco

Rivera had effectively killed her, twice. I picked up my phone, the 911 call already connected. I mouthed t

suitcase, grabbed my passport and ticket, and zipped it shut. His words, once capable of

he roared, but his voice was already

ast, leaving him and his venom behind. I blocked his number with a swift, decisive tap, the