The Unwanted Wife's Final Gift

est and most painful memories. She had thought bringing Ethan here mi

was

of Chloe's perfume hung in the air. On the entryway table, next to

She pushed open the d

r on the sofa, her childhood sofa. They weren't just

ure crumbled into dust. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and the pain in her stomach int

er voice trembling with a r

ts' legacy. It was the last place on earth she felt safe. And he had de

ssion annoyed rather than guilty. "Ava,

house!" Ava' s vo

up, a cruel smirk on his face. He was enjoying this.

ow of being frightened. "Ethan, maybe I

id, his voice a low command. "Go upst

family home. He was replacing her, pie

was too much. Ava turned and fled, running up the stairs to

ably. The pain was blinding. She fumbled in her purse for the bottle o

she he

of giggling. Then a mattress creaking. The sounds were unmist

n purpose. He was t

oom and vomited again, her body convulsing with the effort. She was dy

o bitter it was

oom a relentless torment. Eventually, the painkillers kicked in, dulling the physic

get up. She put on a fresh dress, applied

e announced, he

making coffee. He looked s

you somewher

old and weathered, but for Ava, it was sacred ground. It

s tone bored. "A trip down memory lane? D

you," she said, leading him to a

," surrounded by a clumsily etched heart. She had carved it herself the day

?" she asked,

sh laugh. "You've got to be kidding me. You'r

, he picked up a loose

o grow up, A

k against the wall, scraping away the carving until it

e, secret, cherished memory and obli

ling a scar on the wall where the heart had been. A s

al cut. There was nothing lef