The Betrayal That Freed Her

them everywhere, holding hands on the main quad, sharing a coffee at the campus cafe. He' d buy her

a past he' d forgotten, o

, stressed and falling behind. I stayed up for three nights straight, not for my own exams, but to help him finish his mode

elebrated with his friends, and when I gently mentioned

Cold dismissal. Now, he was treating Chloe

ction from a man who had none to give me. Now, I understood. He wasn't just cold; he was a user. He

ht' s office when I saw them arguing near the scienc

into his chest. "I don't know what I ever did to her. I tried t

s were perfectly timed, her voice fil

ding thirty feet away, unnoticed. "Don't worry about her," he said, his voice low and menacin

as quickly replaced by a hot surge of anger. He would try to destroy me for this m

takeover built on fraud and betrayal. The collapse left them with nothing. Ethan' s father, unable to face the shame and ruin, had taken

e daughter of their mortal enemy. He was

der before burying her face again, her crying intensifying. She knew exactly what she was doing. She was st

d, her voice muffled by his shirt. "It would be a shame if something h

e. A cold, calculating determination. He was already planning

sick with exhaustion, gluing tiny pieces of cardboard together for his pr

our last life. But this time was different. This time, I knew his e

ey were walking away, his arm wrapped protectively arou

nd it wasn't a love story. It was a tragedy. His

separate, personal note from David Hayes was included. He expressed his regret and wished me well. He was a good man,

ouldn't save him. I could

own number. "Stay away from Ethan. You d

it witho

't know what game you're playing, Sarah, b

ontrol. Let him plot and scheme. He was playing checkers, bu