Why did I let her go? I’m haunted by the memory of her devastated face, the way she looked at me like I was the one person she thought she could trust—and how I tore that trust apart, shredded it with my own hands. My chest aches with a hollow ache, each beat of my heart like a mocking reminder of what I’ve lost.
Just as I’m lost in the painful swirl of my own thoughts, the front door shakes with a sudden, jarring bang. I tense, the aggressive rhythm of the pounding sending adrenaline through my veins. My mind races—Lilith. She must have come. She must’ve finally shown up to finish what she started.
I take a sharp breath, steadying myself as I move toward the door. But the banging only intensifies, punctuated by muffled shouts from the other side. A woman’s voice, sharp and desperate, cuts through the silence, and my pulse races with confusion as I recognize the voice.
Christina.
I open the door, and Christina practically stumbles into the foyer, her face streaked with tears, her expression twisted in afury I’ve never seen before. Her hands are shaking, but there’s a fire in her eyes—a fire that’s only stoked as she sees me.
“Where is she, Ashton?” Her voice trembles, an edge of hysteria breaking through her words. “Where’s Dove?”
My mind stumbles, trying to catch up to the intensity in her voice, the desperate look on her face. “Christina?—”
“Don’t ‘Christina’ me!” she spits, her fists clenched, eyes wild and accusing. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to her? Do you have any idea what you’ve put her through?”
I open my mouth, but the words don’t come. Guilt gnaws at me, clawing through the calm facade he’s tried to maintain since the day he let Dove walk away. I’m so used to hiding, burying myself behind the walls I’ve built for protection. But here, in the face of her anger, I felt like I was unraveling, as raw and exposed as she is.
“She’s broken, Ashton. You took her, did whatever you did to her, and you just let her go? You think she’s fine now? That she’ll be okay?”
I say nothing, but Christina’s anger only seems to feed off my silence.
“Do you know what it’s like to see her like that? She’s hollow, she’s… she’s not Dove anymore!” Her voice cracks, and her fists slam into his chest. “Whatever you did to her, I want you to fix it. Give her back to me. Bring her back, Ashton!”
My hands hang uselessly at my sides, my mind a chaotic mess of frustration and pain. Her words like a knife to the chest. But I keep myself steady, swallowing down every ounce of guilt and pain that bubbles up inside of me.
“She deserves better than you,” Christina chokes out, her words laced with venom. “Whatever twisted hold you had on her, you need to let it go. You’ve done enough.”
My voice is low, unsteady. “I let her go because I thought it was best for her.”
Christina’s laugh is hollow, bitter. “Best for her? You think you know what’s best for her?” Her eyes flash. “You might have just been the only thing she cared about, Ashton. And you destroyed her.”
I stare at Christina, my mind reeling. The words I planned to say to myself later—to justify what I’d done, to remind myself that I let Dove go because it was safer—are now useless against the torrent of rage pouring from Christina. She’s shaking, fists clenched, eyes sharp with betrayal.
“What…what are you talking about?” I say, my voice barely a murmur. I hadn’t seen her or heard from her since I’d let her go, convinced that breaking her heart was the only way to protect her. I’d let her walk away, watched her slip through my fingers despite every instinct screaming to keep her.
Christina laughs, a bitter, hollow sound. “You seriously have no idea, do you? You think you just let her go, and that’s it?” She’s pacing now, hands flailing as her words rise, her frustration only building. “You didn’t just let her go, Ashton. You ruined her, and then you didn’t even leave her alone!”
“What?” my chest tightens. “I haven’t done anything. I let her go. I haven’t seen her since…”
“Oh, is that right?” Christina seethes. Her words are like daggers, piercing the thin layer of resolve I’ve tried to keep wrapped around my heart. “So you didn’t keep sending those creepy messages, didn’t follow her everywhere? She’s been falling apart, Ashton—jumping at shadows, hiding away, too scared to even go outside half the time. You shattered her, and then it’s like you’ve been haunting her.”
Haunting her. The words tear through me, unsettling and foreign. I’d kept away. I had left her alone, tried to forget her even if I knew it was impossible. Yet the image of Dove afraid, looking over her shoulder, desperate for peace, grates against every protective instinct in me. I let her go because I couldn’tbear to see her hurt again. Because I thought it would free her from the danger I had brought.
“I don’t understand,” I say, my voice cracking despite my efforts to keep it steady. “I haven’t sent anything. I haven’t followed her. Christina, I swear I’ve left her alone.”
Christina’s eyes flash, a glint of sorrow hidden behind her fury. “Then who is it, Ashton? Who’s been sending the letters? Who’s leaving those balloons? You think you broke her heart, and that’s where it ends? She’s unraveling, and whatever you set in motion isn’t stopping.”
My breath catches, and suddenly the house feels too quiet, like every shadow is hiding a secret I can’t reach. The balloons, the letters—I had let her go to protect her, to keep the darkness away. Had it all been for nothing? Had I just pushed her further into the nightmare I tried so desperately to shield her from?
Christina’s voice softens, though the edge is still there. “She still loves you, you know. She doesn’t understand any of this, why you did what you did, but she loves you. And it’s tearing her apart.” She swipes a hand across her face, her voice choked with unshed tears. “If you’re not going to be the one to fix this, then, for God’s sake, let her be. Because whatever’s happening, she can’t survive much more of it.”
Her words hang in the air, a cruel reminder of everything I’ve lost. I look away, jaw clenched, as I battle against the overwhelming ache I’ve been trying to ignore. If someone else is tormenting her, following her, then my sacrifice meant nothing.
Christina’s voice drops to a broken whisper. “She’s barely holding on, Ashton. Do something, or let her go for real.”
Christina’s words were like knives, each one sharper than the last. I stood in the doorway, letting her rage wash over me, each accusation and truth hitting me harder than I thoughtpossible. My heart hammered in my chest, but I kept my face blank, kept my body steady. Yet, when Christina mentioned the shadows, the feeling of being watched. My own pulse faltered.
“It’s not just the balloons and letters,” she hissed, her voice raw with pain and fury. “It’s the shadows, Ashton. Dove’s been seeing them everywhere. She feels like she’s constantly being watched, like someone’s always just out of reach, lurking. She hardly sleeps, afraid someone’s going to be there the second she closes her eyes. Every creak, every whisper of wind—she’s terrified.”
