Erasing the Woman He Promised Forever

he engagement party were

existence a quiet, persistent ache. The tinnitus in h

and Jaylah, a constant tablea

he dining room as she ate her

lacing the pieces Elizebeth had carefully chosen years ago. E

displays we

business partners. Elizebeth, by habit, ha

a hand on her arm. Her touch w

You understand." She smiled, a flash of white teeth. "Besides, I need you to be a de

aim check into E

Jaylah was the partner.

e was a photo of Floyd and Jaylah from the dinner. He had his arm aroun

Jaylah Ryan, heiress to Ryan Holdings, solidify t

her fingers stiff. She was a

, going over some architectural blueprints. It was a project she had

ice quiet. "I wanted to ta

ummoned. "Floyd, honey, I can't decide

annoyed, not at Jaylah, but at

nt." He stood and walked to Jaylah, his hand immediate

n exist in his professiona

f her dignity came two

ing in her notepad. It was the

olding a small, bea

cing it on the table in front o

looked a

en it," Ja

a state-of-the-art neural stabilizer. A device designed to mitigate the s

e face disguised as

g with malice. "Floyd felt responsible. He worries that your... i

ords were chosen to wound. They

ked in. He saw the o

d concern. It was the face of a benevolent p

me you've been unwell. I should have noticed sooner

her this pain, and now he was offering a cheap, technological banda

aved. This was the man who

ausea rolle

concerned face to Ja

screaming at her, his face twisted wi

she was forced to kneel in the snow and repair a tor

e a matc

was a gesture of ownership, a small, reassuring squeeze he h

was giving away all the small in

on Jaylah, shining with a love that felt utterly

to witness their joy and

bilizer in her hands. She l

her finally, irre

y thing she had left

a small, br

ce a hollow echo in the grand

their perfect, gilded life. She had to get o