No Second Chance For Us

e P

million. For a jade bangle that was mine, that was my mother' s, that represented ev

k, a deafening sound that sealed my fat

sickening adoration, watched her, completely oblivious to the wreckage he' d created. I heard the whispers around me, shar

alked out of the auction house. Each step was a struggle. I couldn' t breat

stark and final. You can' t win against her. You

t was an unknown number. I hesi

Evans from the NIH. We' ve received your research proposal. I

darkness. My heart, though still aching, fluttered wi

facility in Jiangcheng within two weeks. It' s a secure, high-clearance project, so

an break. A chance to disappear. I felt a strange ca

exhausted but oddly at peace. I didn' t check my phone. I didn' t want to see any more news

r phone, her eyes wide. She tried to hide the screen, but it was too late. The headlines blared, splashed across ever

d Alden, his gaze full of adoration, his arm possessively around her. I saw it then, clearly. This was how he loved. With a grand,

" I said, forcing a smile, pulling my phone from her grasp. "

He had Amanda back, his "true love." He had humilia

phone: Be at the apartment by 8. My heart sank. He sti

arrived, a team of decorators and movers were bustling in and out. They were ca

eramic figurines, gifts from my mother, usually perched on the mantelpiece, was gone.

Mr. Maxwell had everything removed. Miss Erickson found the décor... unappealing. She' s redecorating." Sh

den had been when he' d first furnished this place for me, how he' d said it was my home. He' d even brought back one of my mother' s handmade fabric dolls from a trip abroad, a small, thoughtful gesture that had bro

me a cage, then destroyed it with a single word from another woman. My mother' s doll, a piece of m

d, but his expression was unreadable. I couldn' t even forc

remaining things. Amanda will be staying here occasionally. I need this space to be... suitable for her tastes.