The Monster Who Saved Me

d picked up since her return, as if my space was now commo

er to meet your new husband. I heard he doesn't like leaving his mansion. Y

a sweater. I just wanted to be don

p my silver hairbrush. "Liam and I were just finalizing the guest list for our en

ant to hurt, and I refused to give

, velvet box on my nightstand. Be

sked, her fingers fu

my voice sharp and sudden.

cket. It was old and slightly dented, but it was the most precious thing I owne

g it up. "It looks cheap. I could buy y

, my voice low and shaking wi

, a cruel glint in her eyes. "And what's theirs is mine. I think I'

eck. In that moment, something snapped

my fingers closing

she shrieked,

was to get it back. It was my only link to a past bef

ard a sick

he delicate clasp shattered, and the two halves sprang open, revealing the tiny, faded pictures inside-a man and a

the ruined pieces, a wave of cold, desolate grief washing over me.

pped back, a perfect picture of feigned shock. "Oh, Sarah, I'm so

so transparently malicious

se. He took in the scene in an instant: Chloe looking pal

o Chloe's side and putting a protective arm arou

my hands trembling as I picked up the two broken h

my locket," I sai

burying her face in Liam's chest. "It was

"I can't believe you, Sarah. Chloe is your sister. After every

rl who had systematically destroyed my life. I saw him not as a victim of her manipulation, but a

him, any shred of hope or nostalgia, evaporated.

nto the velvet box. I didn't bother looking for the

I walked down the grand staircase, past the family portraits that no longer included me, and out the front door