The Bride Who Walked Away

"that was ugly. I'm sorry you had to go through that." He handed me an ice pack for my head. "The fellowship committee called me for a refere

over me. "Thank you, R

get out of this city," he a

lighter than I had in years. The decision was made. I was le

my keys, it was pulled open from the inside.

talk," he said,

Get out of my a

once felt like home, now felt like a cage. "I'm sorry about what happened at t

my voice dripping with disbelief.

gn of the old Ava, the one who always forgave him. "Once Lily is better, we can

, bone-deep weariness. "I'm tired, Ethan," I said, the words coming from a plac

t in his own fantasy. "Just give me a

id, walking past him into my

ed to keep. I arranged for the rest to be donated. With every box I taped shut, I felt a layer of my old life peel away

but for a structural issue. A water pipe had burst on the top floor of the new wing I had des

ies said, his voice frantic. "No one el

g, kicked in. My flight wasn't for another six hours. I could go, fix t

e, when the heavy steel door slammed shut behind me. The lock clicked. I spun around. Ethan stoo

an? Open the door!" I ye

low and menacing. "I went to the apartment. It'

ur business. Let

placed grief. "The doctors say the poison is aggressive. They sai

, baseless. "Ethan, that'

not leaving this city until she is better. Or until you confess." H