PROLOGUE
I usedto think people came in two kinds.
The ones who carry the fire, and the ones who get burned by it.
I thought I knew which one I was.
But I didn’t see it until it was too late.
There’s a moment, right before everything splits apart, where it all sharpens.Where you see the truth so clearly it almost hurts to look at.
The people you love the most, they’re the ones who blind you the fastest.
And loyalty?
Loyalty can be a cage if you’re not careful.
It can convince you that monsters wear halos, and heroes wear bruises.
I wanted to believe in him.
But sometimes the villain looks a hell of a lot like the man you were trying so hard to become.
If I’d known then what I know now, maybe I would’ve chosen differently.
Maybe I would’ve walked away.
But I didn’t.
And now I’m stuck in the silence between heartbeats, wishing I’d said more when I had the chance.
Wishing I hadn’t waited until the world was on fire to tell the truth.I think the worst part of all of it.
Is knowing I won’t get the chance to say I’m sorry.
Not to you.
Not the way you deserved.
So if you wake up, if you make it out of this…
Just know this was never supposed to be your burden.
It should’ve been mine.
PARTONE
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
CHAPTER1
WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU
NORA
They tellyou that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.I've learned that what nearly destroys you actually makes you softer.More aware of the paper-thin membrane between being and not-being.
Isn't that the cruelest paradox of all?
