Four Years Built On Deceit

enly felt too quiet, too empty. The aroma of garlic and herbs, once comforting, now made me nauseous. H

lost and, in its loss, a strange kind of freedom. I pushed back my chair, stood up, and

in my chest. My mind, which had been a whirlwind of emotion, was now eerily still. The images of Damari and Cydney, of their whispered conversation i

lt nothing. Just a hollow emptiness where my hope for Damari used to be. The pain was still there, a dull throb, but it no

y, now elicited a different reaction. I envied their simplicity, their honesty. Their

't been suffering for me. He had been suffering for Cydney, orchestrating a performance to keep me waiting while

watermark, the careful scrawl of "not." He hadn't just lied; he h

less devotion to Damari. I had dismissed her as harmless, a loyal employee. But now, it was clear. She wasn't

ing. Her carefully timed phone call, pulling him away from me, away from our supposed reconciliation. It was a

d it. I couldn't face her questions, her concerns.

. It kept the raw agony at bay, allowing me to process, to accept. I thought about the girl I had been, the one who lov

o much of my love, on a fantasy. A man who never truly prioritized me, never truly respected me enoug

. I deserved a love that didn't come with a manipulative assistant and a mountain

of continuing this charade, was unbearable. I couldn't do it. I wouldn't. My heart was b

around me, a million lights twinkling, indifferent to my persona

as my sister. I hesitated, then answ

Mom called, she's worri

y voice betrayed me. "I just

asked, her voice l

air filling my lungs. "He's been lying to me. For years. About

he other end. "What? A

he words heavy. "He altered them

ys knew there was something off about her. And him, playing the marty

ds feeling strangely liberat

eserve so much better, Augusta. So much more. You deserve

o my raw soul. "I know,

th us. We'll help you figure things

who would demand honesty and respect. A self ready for a new beginning. I looked up at the stars, a profound sense of resolve settlin