A New Horizon After Her Betrayal

ncy. "We've got a bad one. Paradise Valley. Moving fast, th

eplaced by the cold, clear foc

ould be a multi-day event. Fatality p

he reason I was standing on the curb with a duffel bag and a dead heart. Still, a stupid, stubborn part of me, th

en and saw her in the foyer. She was dressed up, wearing a sleek black dr

," I

ruption. "What now, Ethan? I hav

oom, holding Leo' s hand. He was wearing a t

d her, completely ignoring me. "Leo

she looked at the boy. "Of c

I' d asked her to come to a firefighter' s ball, a simple community barbecue. She always said they were "to

aid, my voice hollo

ve hand. "Then go. D

walked away, the image burning into my memory. Each step felt like I was crushing the fragile bubbles of the past five yea

was contained, but it had taken its toll. I was sitting in a cheap mote

. "Meet me at the cafe by the ri

rred in my chest. Maybe she was finally read

rse. She was always late, always making me wait. It was part of her

e. Julian and L

e site of my most cherished memory i

not sounding sorry at all. "

laughing and talking as if I wasn't there. Julian fed Leo a bite of cake, and Seraphina wiped a smudge of c

voice tight. "You

oken. "Oh, right. Julian thought it would be a g

wn divorce. That was it. The final straw. The last ves

h-risk assignment. They're calling it a suicide mission. There's a good chance I

fering her the ultimate

usy drawing on a napkin. No one reacted. My life-or-death confessi

e legs scraping loudly aga

a scream. I turned just in time to see it falling directly toward our table. Instinct took over. I shoved the table away from them, but I wasn't fast