A Love Betrayed, A Future Reclaimed

hrough the phone, a solid anchor in the swirling chaos of h

miles from the hospital, the city lights blurring around her. "He threw my blood in the trash, Liam. He and Chloe were laughing about it." S

The Maestro' s program starts in three days. I can get you a ticket for the first fl

artment," she said. "I need

hat safe? I

" The word tasted like poison. "I have a few

g at all. I' ll be there in twenty minu

the home that was no longer a home. It was just a place. A stage for a three-y

ith Jake. The space was beautiful, all clean lines and expensive furniture, a testament to Jake'

island where he' d made her breakfast, telling her she was the most important thing in his life. On the wall hung a framed p

herself against the wall, taking a deep, shudde

ook only what was hers, only what mattered. Clothes, toiletries, her sheet music. She left behind every gift he' d e

one thing he hadn't managed to defile. Her passport was in the desk drawer, right where she' d left it. As she took it, her fingers brushed against a small, velv

, gathering every trace of their shared life. The photo from Paris came off the wall. The books he' d bought her went into a pile. She stripped the sheets from t

case when she heard the front

t was Jake. He sounded s

orway, her heart pounding.

floor. A confused frown crossed his face. "What' s going on? Are you going somewhere?" He sound

leaning," she said, her

ce, a gesture that had once made her melt. "You' re mad about the hospital thing, aren' t you? B

ive, violent movement that surprised even

? It was just a prank. You know how I am." He tried to laugh it of

g her suitcase toward the door. "I' m

lly about? Did I do something else? You know you can tell me anything."

sk of weary resignation. She couldn't let him see the truth, the rage and the pai

she said. "I jus

t he had her completely under his control, that she was his loyal, loving fool who would forgive him for anythi

"Okay, Liv. If that' s what you need. But ca

, her voice flat.

ind her. She didn' t let herself cry, not until she was safely in a cab