Shattered Promises, New Beginnings

rew worse with every passing hour until I was curled on my bed, dren

st instinct, the one ingrained from a l

phone, my fingers

"I need help. I' m in a lot of pain.

the line. I could hear Chloe' s voic

s voice was impatient. "Chloe sprained her

ugh gritted teeth, a wave of nausea wash

ve. "I' m bringing Chloe breakfast. Just take some

hun

than the one in my abdomen. He was bringing her breakfast. I was

blur of sirens and concerned faces. In the emergency room, the pain was a

ve acute appendicitis. We need to get you into surge

tact. I gave him Ethan' s num

wheeled into the operating room, I

robably faking it for attention and that he would

dn' t even hurt anymore

me, his expression a mixture of pro

irm. "I' ve signed off on the emergency pr

showed me more compassion than

y and sore in a hospital room. A few days

pped dead. It had been ransacked.

as standing in the middle of my living room, directing two movers. H

oing?" I asked,

s no concern on his face, no shock at my

Chloe and I are moving in here. It' s bigger than my place, an

disbelief making my head feel

I' ve let you live here rent-free for years. It' s time you stood on your ow

I had left from our mother, from ou

the desk where my mother' s will and the deed to the apartme

hly. "It' s better this way, Ava.

t abandoning me; he was actively trying to eras

said, my voice

be diff

box and hurling it against the wall. It crashed with a satisf

ear, maybe surprise-in his eyes. He saw that I was

d. "Fine. But don' t come cryin

ers and left, slammin

in my heart. The stress, the pain, the emotional devastation of the past weeks finally caught up to me

ffice. His nurse told me to come

ne buzzed. It was a notification fro

, on a yacht. The caption read: "Celebrat

cean. And I felt the last bit of hope inside me die. He was on a yacht, celebrating. My