Shattered Love, Deadly Revenge

I stumbled into the narrow, grimy hallway that led to the back alley,

ilt around my heart for the last five

the cheap makeup. I choked back a sob, pressing the heels of my han

e with pity. No right to tell me to ge

ivia! What the hell are you doing? Mr. Miller

back of my hand and stood up stra

You get back out there and apolo

word was qui

ned red. "What

, another figure filled

and off my arm. "

n. "Mr. Miller, of course. My apologies." He

dimly lit hallway. The air was thic

" I asked, my voice trem

r, his expression pa

off. "Don' t you da

, and I recoiled as if I' d be

never thought possible. "I saw you," he said, his voice b

ou think I finished my degree? Became a successful architect? Did you think I

shard of glass te

"Your father..

can' t speak. He spends his days in a wheelchair, staring at a wall, because the grief of losing his wife and see

"It wasn' t suppose

ards him, poking a finger into his expensive suit. "Just the publi

eyes, once full of what I thought was love, were now

ast. "Your mother suffered, so my mother had to pay. And I, her daughter, h

om mine. "And the child?" he bit out, his voice laced with a pain that mirrore

heart a confusing mix of love and a cold desire for vengeance. Yes, at first, I had kept him to make Liam suffer one day.

vanished the moment I

ith total trust... they had washed away all the hate. All that was left was a fier

ruth. "At first, yes. But he is not a pawn in your sic

was the nightly call from the home care nu

hand shaking. "Is

need to come to the hospital. It' s Ethan. He h

f the pediatric oncology ward. My beautiful, five-year-old boy was fighting a war inside his own tiny

y were drowning me. The chemotherapy was destroying him, leaving h

e, a strangled cry

there, his face a canvas

ute despair, a horrifying t

ause of all

also rich

y one who coul

denly become my only hope. The irony was so cruel, so