His Thirty-Fourth Accidental Betrayal

r a few seconds, I was disorie

flooded back. Kalea' s face, smiling

y mouth to call for a

en, airy cr

ain. Nothing but a pa

, raw. My eyes burne

a walked in, looking like a pow

my throat, my eyes beggin

mplication during the surgery," he said, his voice strained. "An acci

ccident? His voice was too smooth, his

ing behind Drake, and for a split seco

r true e

mug, victorious smile played on her lip

being struck

accident. It

e poisonings, the threats, my mother's death, my voice-it a

urged through me. My mother. My

sed, I grabbed the water pitcher from

g Kalea behind him as the pitc

our mind?" he roared, h

ng, my heart filled with a hatr

orcing the broken words from my ruined

p. "Kalea would never do something like that. You're just lashing

e harder than a

e me. In his eyes, I was the hysterical, sp

urious face, and a bitter,

the weapon she had used to destroy me. Without his blind trust, his blatant fav

, I was silent. A gho

g his empty promises to fix my th

ed flight information for a flight to another country, leaving the next morning. It al

my mother's death. I d

typed bac

conference tomorrow, so I won't be here," he said. "The new s

lift my head f

It was a picture of her and Drake, an intimate selfie. The caption read, "

umber and deleted her contact.

topped. Sunlight streamed throug

ut on my own clothes, and walked out

n, took out the phone's SIM

he pieces i

k and a heart full of ghosts, I walked towar

y, irrevocab