When Love Dies And Memories Fade

n Farm

to hell and back, enduring Cory's taunts and Christopher's callous demands, all for a promise he had no intention of keeping. The air hung heavy with the scent of impending doom, a

held her tight, his eyes glowing with an adoration he had never once shown me. They looked

ter," she purred, her voice dripping with mock sweetness. "Finally doing something useful, are w

her frail body, her shallow breaths, was burned into my mind. I didn't care about Cory's victory, or

ices are no longer required." His words were a dismissal, a final act of cruelty that sealed

he hospital. My heart stopped. I knew. Before I even answered, I knew. The nurse' s voice was gentle, ap

all faded into a deafening roar. My legs gave out, and I crumpled to the polished floor, the phone slipping fro

dn't you send it?!" I scrambled towards him, crawling on my hands and knees, my dress dragging on the dirty floor, my vision blurred by tears. "She's dead bec

retary just confirmed she's not even sick enough for surgery, you're just making it up." He stepped back, pulling Cory closer, shielding her

d! Please, Christopher, take me to the hospital! Please!" My body shook uncontr

o dramatic. She's fine. Now, go home. You're embarrassing me." He turned away, his arm still around Cory, a

those in the hospital room, casting long, cold shadows. My grandmother lay on a cold slab, her face peaceful in death, a stark contrast to the violent agony of her

t a hollow shell. Christopher was nowhere to be seen. Cory, of course, was by his side, flaunting their happiness in lavish socialite p

necklace for her "bravery," a luxury car for her "loyalty." Each photo was a punch to the g

y to offer unsolicited advice. "Allison, you need to leave him," my Aunt Martha

ther was gone. The last reason, the only reason, I had endured Christopher's cruelty was gone. The strings that bound

t was the right decision. This child, conceived in desperation and heartbreak, co

e diamond ring on my finger, a golden cage rather than a symbol of love. It was all for my grandmother, a desperate bargain to secur

ocument; it was my declaration of independence. I was free. Free from him, free from the lies, free from the pain. I was finally,

s, far from everything that had caused me so much pain. A quiet coastal town, a small cottage, the

ays following her death. But now, now he wanted to talk. His message was a pathetic attempt at reconciliation, a belated off

tempting to tempt me with the very things I now despised. "I've sent some money to your account. And a ne

police on me, who had caused my grandmother's death, now missed me. The irony was

. if you still want to keep it, we can. I'l

trayal, the final, unforgivable act of letting my grandmother die? Anger, cold and resolute, surged through me. My answer was swif

the mansion, the wealth, the ghosts of a shattered past. I left the diamond ring on his pillow, a cold, hard circle of metal, a symbol of everything I was leaving behind. I stepped out into the crisp morning air, seve