Love's Final Condemnation

l bed, his chest rising and falling with a shallow, labored rhythm that I felt in my own lungs. Wires snaked from his small body to a machine that beeped a steady

with cautious optimism and ending with a number that made my stoma

r small apartment, a place I could barely afford. My father, a brilliant architect, had left

eils a New Architectural Marvel: The Skyline Spire." A picture showed a man in a tailored suit, his smile sharp and confiden

g project he called "Helios." He had obsessed over it for years, pouring his soul into every line and curve. It

at the base of the tower. Rage, hot and sharp, burned through the fog of my exhaustion. He had stolen it. That ruthless, gre

. I had to

d clammy. "I'll be back soon," I whispered

jacket, a ghost haunting a celebration I had no part in. I pushed through the crowd, my eyes fixed on the man

e through the c

me. Recognition flickered in his dark eyes, followed by a cold, hard

loud enough to carry over the murmur of the

n my direction. The flashes from the cameras were blinding. Julian' s face h

e sympathy that made my skin crawl. "He was so proud of my progress that

eration clawing at me. "He woul

ters. He placed a hand on my shoulder, a gesture that looked comforting but felt

rowd' s eyes were on me, a thousand points of judgment. I saw pity in some, but mostly, I saw dis

n one, but a frantic, internal whisper that seemed to echo in my own mind. She knows. How does she know? Did he tell her? No, he wouldn't. He couldn't

is grip on my arm bruisingly tight. "Y

aving me in the shadows. I tried to hold my head high, to maintain some shred of dignity, but my sho

d at something he said, her head tilted just so. It was an intimate, practiced gesture. He smiled down at her, a picture of success and happiness.

, isn't it?" "So shameless, trying to ruin his big night." "Probably ju

I saw you on the news feed. How could you embarrass the family lik

bitter. Even my own family had abandon

wave of dizziness washed over me, and a familiar, sharp pain flared in my chest. I pressed a hand to my mouth, a cough rattling my frame. When