Ten Years Of Lies, One Heartbreak

pte

blinked, the bright overhead lights burning my retinas. This wasn't the lavish suite Collin would have insisted on. It was a standard hospital room, bland and impersonal. A shiver tr

ain in my arm. "Stay still, Ms. Blair," she grunted, not meeting my eyes. Her tone was flat, devoid of any

tle?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

"Honey, Mr. Brewer said you were 'dramatic.' He told us to j

stomach clenched. He was still orchestrating my suffering, even in my supposed recovery. My heart, or what was left of it, ached with a

nd. Beside him, Haylee Acosta skipped in, wearing a ridiculously bright yellow sundress, her

grating on my nerves. She looked like a child play

napped something inside me. All the suppressed grief, the rage, the unimaginable pain, erupted. I lunged forward, my bandaged legs pr

wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "Collin, she's t

t her, she's terrified!" He spoke to me as if I were a wild animal, not the woman he was supposed to

p me? The woman who plunged me into this hell? I couldn't even speak, my throat seizing up with emotion. But Collin wasn't done. He looked at me, a flicke

eing a great honor. "She's worried about you, and she insists

He wanted me to watch her play house, while I festered in my own misery. He wanted to rub her "innocence" in my face, a constant reminder of everything I had lost. I wanted to

s, instead of healing, grew worse. A persistent infection set in, my legs a constant throb of pain. Every day was a fresh bruise, a new ache, both physical and emotional. I tried to protest, to explain her deliberate cruelty to Collin, but he always dismissed me with a wave of his hand. "Haylee's just a little clumsy, Kira," h

stopped trying to resist. I just lay there, a prisoner in my own recovery, watching Haylee flit around the

in shake. "Kira-boo, look! Collin said you need to get strong! I found this spe

was barely a whisper. My mother'

of adrenaline momentarily overriding the pain. "Wha

e container labeled 'Ashes' in Collin's study. I thought it

y throat. I launched myself out of bed, grabbing the glass from her hand and throwing it against the wall. The shake splattered, a dark, visco

nomous hatred. A deep, red mark bloomed on her cheek. She staggered back, clutching her face

tate, Haylee's tear-streaked face. Without a word, he lunged at me, pushing me back with a force that sent a fresh wave of agony

laced with a cold disgust. He turned to Haylee, cradling her f

wanted to help her get strong, like you said! I thought the 'Ashes' powder was good for her!" She looked up at Collin

, sharp and unforgiving. "Ki

For what? For her desecrating my mother's memory? For he

ira. I know a lot more about her past than that video showed. And if

a physical sensation, thick and suffocating. My body shook with suppressed sobs, but no tears came. I was a dried-up

, the words tasting like

boo," she simpered, patting my arm, a gesture that felt like a snake coiling a

distant. "See, Kira? Just apologize. It's not that hard." He took Haylee by the hand, leading her out of the room. As

eaned up the mess on the wall, each smear a fresh wound to my heart. My life was a wasteland, burned to the ground. But from the ashes, something new was stirring. A cold, calcul