Erased by Love, Forged by Revenge

ng into. My head throbbed, and the ghost of Mark's handprint still b

x days remaining un

first thing I saw. I

rk circles under her eyes. The woman Mark had molded. Conservative clothes, long,

tel and went to the fi

inting to the side of my head. "An

eedom. Next, I went to a tattoo parlor. I had the artist ink a dying rose on my wrist,

leather jacket, ripped jeans, combat boots, dark lipstick. I threw the credit

few things he hadn't absorbed into his corporate entity. His things were still here, cluttering up m

them. I didn

signed first editions, photos of us smiling at corporate events. I piled it all up

, calmly, set

iling faces. The smoke alarm shrieked, a frantic, piercing

It was my bes

are saying you crashed the wedding. You need to fix this. You

hloe," I said, watching a photo of Mark and

just... he was probably pressured into it by her father. Yo

" I said, my voice flat. "It got me a slap

efore she c

er of chemical-laced water. It left a disgusting, soggy, blackened mess in the m

orbell

ark standing there, h

room. He stared at the smoldering pile of his possessions. "What is w

y apartment,

t me, for the first time. His eyes wid

to yourself? You

from his jacket pocket. Th

"I know you're hurt. But this little temper tantrum is enough. Take the money. Go bu

ght he could burn down my life, then pa

r, a new voice piped

everything okay

he looked around at the mess, her nose wrinkled in disgus

This is what grief can do to a person. Mark, we shou

t to the man she stole from me,

ntempt. "And that hair... it's very... aggressive. You k

last thread of my

id, my voice da

artment. A bit messy right now, of course. But I can see the poten

ed, stepping towar

or the first time in a very long time, I wasn't

fying it would be to wipe that