The Architect's Vengeance: Empire Falls

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t. The pain was real, sharp, almost suffocating. It ripped

His smile vanished, replaced by a flicker of con

to care, I screamed in

thin thread. "Must be something I ate." I f

e enough, or at least a convincing performance.

g about the city's new developments, a recent art exhibition. His voice was a dull drone against the roaring in my ears. I stared

g silence. "Are you mad at me? Is it...

wind. "No, Caden. Why would I be mad? I was j

ved. "Oh? What

her, house, dreams... everything. Then, one day, one of them just... stopped loving the other. Just like that. The love vanished,

on! What kind of question is that? Never! I love you, Allisson. More than life itself. Don't ever even think

ear, cold. You lie with eve

e fragile silence. He glanced at it, a shadow pass

voice eerily calm. "

ped, low and intimate. His expression shifted, a subtle play of de

usiness, darling. I have to go to th

owly. "Of c

, watching him drive away. The car was bare

cted the driver, my voice s

got out, the front door swung open, and Brittaney Jones, radiant and smiling, rushed out to meet him. She threw her arms around

, pulling him towards the car. He hesitated for a split second, glancing back at the empty street where I ha

nervous and tender, holding me close. He had whispered promises of forever, of cherishing m

e didn't just break his vows; he pulverized th

nd, elderly man, pulled over, handing me a tissue. "Are you alright, miss?" he asked, his voice fill

e hardening my gaze. "No," I said, my voice raw wi