A Love Betrayed, A Future Reclaimed

r practice room. Olivia Miller, Liv, ignored it. She was in the middle of a complex passage, her fingers fly

It was Jake' s number. A wave of warmth was

voice soft. "I was jus

panicked. "There' s been an accident. It' s Jake. He' s at St. Mary' s Hospital, he' s lost a lot of blo

r clattered to the floor. "Wh

Please. Emergency room

gainst her ribs so hard it hurt. The drive to the hospital was a blur of red lights and blaring horns that she

a nurse was waiting for

ake Peterson

id, her tone urgent as she led Liv to a small c

ein. The dark red liquid flowed from her into the sterile bag, a physical representation of her

t. "You' re doing a great job. We

ide of her elbow, feeling dizzy and weak, but her mind was only on Jake. She waited. And waited. An hour passed. Then anoth

Liv," he said, n

ee him?" she asked, tryin

that got out of hand. He cut himself, made a big deal out of it. He' s fi

lood... the panic... for a prank? "But... t

smissively, already turning to leave. "He fe

or pickup near a side exit. On top of a pile of discarded gauze and blue paper gowns, she saw it. A clear plastic bag, still half-full of dark, c

thrown away.

the building, her body moving on instinct. The door swung open, and Jake stepped out, not a scratch on him. He was ho

was high and mocking. "She looked like h

el sick. "Of course she did. She' d do anything for me. It' s been three years, Chloe.

ve been so good to me, Jakey.

ised, his voice turning cold. "I' m not

been the final two contenders for a prestigious classical guitar scholarship that could launch a career. Liv had won. She' d assu

hite performance dress moments before she went on stage. The important audition he' d made her late for because he' d "lost" his car keys. The countless small humiliati

ance. She had been his fool, his project, his target. The love she had poured into him, the future

on burned through her veins, hot and acidic. She felt hollowed out, scoured clean of every good and tender

pped it. She didn' t call Jake. She didn' t call a friend. She scrolled through h

first ring. "Liv? Wh

ead monotone. "Liam? That offer... to study

her end. "Of course it is,

and traced a path down her cold cheek. "I' m