His Betrayal, My New Beginning

ere shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.

My voic

u okay?" Her voice was thick with sl

s out past the lump in my throat. "The

a successful architect. For years, our parents had joked about arranging a marriage, a quaint, old-fa

his about?" my mo

st tell me. Is it

hink so. Marcus is a good man,

ords tasting like ash. "Tell

of a relief she tried to hide. "I' ll c

I started pulling clothes from their hangers, dumping them on the bed. T-shirts, jeans, sweaters. My hands wo

ent, my resolve wavered. I clutched it to my chest, a sob finally breaking free. I let mysel

pockets of the suitcase when I hear

y went

indow, a smirk on his f

the piles of clothes on

his? Going

I just kept packin

t, his lips pressing against my neck. It was the same

just made my

spered, his hand sliding up my stom

s touch, stepping out o

a flicker of confusion in his e

use feeling flimsy even to my o

kept my expression blank, a mask of indifference. He seemed t

nce. One final test to see

"I' m having dinner with my pare

the window frame. "Su

y no

ng so easily to him. "We' re working on a new arrang

clear. My last, foolish ember of hope died out. I

I' d never heard before. He glanced at the screen, and his e

swinging his leg over the sill.

k back. He just disappeared into the night,

ziness washed over me. The pain I' d been holding back crashed down all at once.

crack. A sharp, white-hot pain shot up my leg. I cried out, bu