Between Love And Revenge

r chest, making it hard to breathe. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing away the dull throb behind them, but it was futile. The

tstand. She hesitated before unlocking the screen, her breath hitching with desperate hope. Maybe-just m

No missed calls. No messages. Just the glari

s came anyway. Hot, silent, and relentless, they streamed down her face as she curled into herself, her body wracked with

that remained was the crushing emptiness. Her chest felt hollow, her limbs heavy with exha

t stay like thi

ove. She reached for her phone again, this time dialing

on,"* Cleo said, her voice r

ie's soft, knowing repl

r, letting the hot water cascade over her. It scalded her skin, but she welcomed the sensation-anything to distract from the pain clawing at h

r that way. She didn't want to see the dark circles under her eyes or the redness that betrayed her tea

ng into a simple but elegant black dress. Her hair was pulled back into a sle

by the door, her usual composed expression tinged with concern. Cleo met h

f the tires against the pavement was the only sound accompa

, they a

colder, emptier-a shell of what it had once been. The moment she stepped inside, she felt it in her bones. The warmth wa

t afford to break down again. She had to be strong

ootfall heavier than the last. The bedroom door was slig

vement insid

ne. Her pulse quickened.

ore stepping forward. The closet door swung open

art st

. It was Jamal, his

once shared between them, was half-empty now. The shelves where Ethan's

ngs?"* she asked, her voice barely

sional yet impersonal. *"Good morning, ma'am,"* he greeted

he swallowed, forcing herself to ke

but he gave me strict instructions

words hit her like a

was

y go

one as she dialed his number, each

ing.

t to vo

, desperation c

ans

her ears, drowning o

n, his tone neutral but fir

ing aside. She watched, powerless, as he carried out the last remnants of the lif

en, si

e room, her gaze locked on th

hatever they had bee

she turned away, her steps slow, measured, as she made her way to the window. The ca

t she refused to let them fall

closure. It

lowed herself to believe for even a second that