I stepped closer, voice cold. “I said–where the fuck did you put her things?”
Her lips trembled. “The recycling site. Near Retoup Road.”
That was all I needed to hear.
I turned, already halfway out the door–when I felt her hand on my arm, Her grip was tight. Desperate.
“Elara-”
“Adrian,” she whispered, her voice cracking as her eyes filled. “Are you really going to leave all of us here–just to go chase
down Selene’s stuff? You told me you loved me. Is this how you love someone?”
Maybe once, I would’ve softened. Maybe a week ago. A day ago.
But now? After knowing the truth? All I felt when I looked at her… was disgust.
I yanked my arm out of her grasp. “Did I say I loved you? Yes. And you said you loved me, too. But tell me–was your version of love always this twisted? To lie to me? To use my past against me? To make me believe in something that never happened?”
A flicker of something passed through her eyes–shock, guilt, maybe both. “I do love you!” she cried. “I would’ve done anything for you!”
“Yes, anything.” I said flatly. “Except tell the damn truth.”
Her voice rose to a near–scream. “Don’t walk away from me, Adrian! I swear, if you leave now, I-”
“You’ll what?” I cut in, my voice sharp as steel. “Don’t forget, Elara–we’re not married. We’re engaged. You are not Mrs. Vale
yet Don’t threaten me.”
1/3
She wasn’t Wring
+25 BONUS
She flinched.
I didn’t stop. “And if you think Selene is beneath you, let me remind you–at this point, you’re no better than her. In fact, you
might be worse.”
Her knees gave out, and she dropped into her seat like her spine had vanished.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m sorry, Adrian. Mr. Vale. Mrs. Vale. I crossed a line…”
I didn’t even spare her a second glance as I turned and walked out the door.
All I could think was- If I hurry… if I’m lucky… maybe I can still get Selene’s things back.
By the time I reached the site, the worker had just begun loading the day’s recycling into the back of his truck.
Then I saw them- A few boxes, stained but intact, with the Vale casino crest faintly stamped on the sides.
“Hey!” I called out, striding toward him. “Those boxes–can I have them back? My assistant threw them out by mistake.”
I handed over a few crisp bills. He gave a nod, and I hauled the boxes out myself.
They looked clean enough on the outside. But when I opened one- The stench hit me first.
Someone had dumped trash inside. Deliberately. Banana peels. Coffee grounds. Crushed containers pressed into silk. A
perfume bottle leaking onto photographs.
Her clothes. Selene’s things.
I fumbled through the mess, hands trembling as I pulled out soaked notebooks, ruined fabric.
And then–something delicate. A small, dust–smudged ballerina figurine.
My breath caught.
I remembered this toy. It was the first gift I’d ever given her. A mechanical music box.
I hadn’t even known what to get her–but I’d seen it in a window, and something about the way the ballerina
me of her.
And she’d kept it.
Until Elara threw it out with the rest of her.
My grip slipped. The ballerina slipped from my hands and hit the concrete.
Shatter.
“No-”
I dropped to my knees, desperately trying to piece it back together.
A ST
spun reminded
The head had snapped off. The base had cracked. Tiny pink limbs lay in jagged fragments across the pavement.
And then, among the wreckage, I saw it- A note. Folded small. Yellowed at the edges.
I picked it up. It was in her handwriting. I knew it instantly.
I want to marry Adrian.
Just that. Simple. Honest Pure.
My throat closed. My vision blurred.
2/3
She wasn’t Wring
+25 BONUS
Selene…
You did marry me. In our last life, you were mine.
And I ruined it.
I mistrusted the wrong person. I turned my back on the one who had always stood in front of me.
In this life, I lost you. Again.
But maybe… maybe that’s a kind of mercy.
Maybe you’re better off. Maybe not loving me, not wasting your years on someone like me–maybe that was your escape.
Your freedom.
You deserved better. You always did.
er
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