The Negotiator's Cruelest Game

lies. I left the hospital early, against medical advice, because I couldn

antly on the counter, a frantic, desperate sound.

ery gift he'd ever given me, every piece of his clothing left in the closet, an

d about the cold the moment we were alone. Our anniversary dinner where he spent the entire time te

His smile didn't reach his eyes. I had always known that, deep down. I just hadn't wanted to see it. I smashed the

e, his hair disheveled, his eyes wild. He look

ering your phone?" he dema

alls and the garbage bags full of our li

ing? Where are a

. He had said it all when he chose Brooke. He had said it all with the

ture of anger and fear. He grabbed my arm, his grip tight.

felt like being handled by

son," I said, my voi

s face hardened. "I see. You're throwing a tant

pity. "I told you, Ava. The situation was complex. Saving Brooke

interrupting his strea

sten. He nev

ard for you to un

d empty promises. I had built my life on a foundation of

is voice laced with accusation. "

ged, I thoug

ping to a desperate whisper. "I can't

ce, to use his physical presence to overwhelm me, as if that could erase the

He used one of his neckties to bind my wrists to the

turning to a cold, burni

was trying to frame his violence as passion, as a tes

er and possession. My stomach turned. A wave of nausea washed over me. Thi

rd. He recoiled, a hand flying to hi

sound tearing from my thr

ssion changed. The wildness was replaced by a familiar,

in calm. He walked out of the room, leaving me tie

door closed. The

n't co

ies. I struggled against the tie, but he had tied the knot wit

hrobbed with a dull, persistent ache. A fever wa

e had chosen her, again, and left me to suffer. The promise to "sort this out" was

ement. Hunger, pain, and a chilling despair settled over me. He had