They Left Me, He Claimed My Heart

L BURG

fire, narrowed. He saw the blankness in

her!" Garrick's voice, sharp w

ly looked, and a flicker of something - panic

, my throat constricted. I gasped, coughing unt

my side, his hand

bedroom door. She took in the scene: her sobbing son, Jorden

me. He recoiled, pushing me away with a sudden, rough shove. I tumbled backward, hit

lf a step forward, his jaw tight. Then he stopped, his

e'?" He laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Guess even you couldn't stomach the spoiled princess forever. We all want the same

tic, pleading stare. He held it for a beat, the

e to move. It was the final nail.

" Andrea's voice, surprisingly

iling water had splashed, was a horrifying expanse of b

ever, all looked at me with a strange mix of shock and something

hed myself up, slowly, p

y cold that had settled in my heart. She was everything they had ever wanted me to be: strong, independent, capable. I knew, with

is sobs. "Sweetheart, you shouldn't have thrown

ce in her side, mutte

ite young," she said, her voice gentle. "He doesn't fully unde

d, my voice

me, startled by my

ed, my voice unwavering, though m

pearing between her eyebrows. "Crystal, he' s just a ch

ted, my voice gaining a desperat

" Jorden's voice, sharp