Her Revenge, His Undying Love

to sign a document to s

ed-million-dollar mistake on me. A mistake

my mother in her hospital bed. Her life-savi

icon on his phone. "One call, Ava. The

in a lab that caught fire. He thou

comforting a perfectly fine Chloe. He looked at me, trapped and burning,

t me t

surv

spital, I made a single

was one wor

pte

it,

ocument across the polished mahogany table

poison to my career. It was a confession, a false admission that I was responsible for the

s childhood friend, had

one," he said, his tone dismissive. "

ll. To sacrifice my license

n't d

frail in a hospital bed, her face pale against the white pillows. Wires and tubes connected her to a symphony of beeping

ly lif

, his gaze fixed on the screen. His thumb hovered over an icon. "One

face on the screen, the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest ti

se... she's

re of mock sympathy. "I kno

in monitor. Liam's thumb pressed a button on his own phone. The steady, life-affirming beep of t

e could do it. He could sto

red, my voice raw

smile this time. "Is there a li

with malice. He was enjoying this,

, almost a caress. "A small price to pay. Think of it as c

as a gift for his childhood sweethear

eep continued. "Ten seconds, Ava. Then I'll have the

d filled my tiny apartment with a thousand white roses, knelt on one knee, and

ding. The grandest t

e had said, his eyes shining with w

ged. Two times we set a date. Tw

called Liam, sobbing that she couldn't live without him, threatening to

the phone, his voice tight with conc

, while the guests whispered and the Vanderbilt family's PR

But Liam rushed to her side, canceling our wedding tasting to personally spoon-feed her soup. I saw them th

... se

nt. To the cold room, the cruel man, and

, hot and silent. The choic

l si

der. A death sentence f

ed my name, Ava Mitchell, on the line that would

omplete, I shoved the documen

brought up the hospital's patient monitoring app. Her

ar-streaked face. "See? All better." He folded the paper neatly and tucked it in

romise. "We'll still have our w

ving me in the suffocating silence. He th

d was steady now. I pulled out my phone again, but I didn't

. Dr. Ethan Hayes. An old mentor. A brilliant lawyer who had offered me a

ed to move my mother. Immediately. Can yo

hing. He was wrong. This wasn'