To give my heart away.
To save someone else.
And still—
God help me—some stubborn, broken part of me searched his face.
For hesitation. For doubt.
For anything.
Anything at all that might prove this wasn’t real.
That this was just another one of his punishments.
Another test.
Another cruelty designed to break me—
but not this.
There was nothing.
Only cold resolve.
Steady. Final.
My chest tightened painfully.
I stepped forward.
One step.
Then another.
Each movement felt heavier than the last, like I was walking deeper into something I couldn’t climb out of.
Like I was crossing a line that couldn’t be uncrossed.
Each step echoed in my ears louder than the last.
My breath came shallow.
I took another deliberate step forward.
Forcing my legs to obey even as they trembled beneath me.
The concrete seemed to rise toward me with every step, like it was waiting—like it knew exactly what I was about to do.
Then—something inside me snapped.
Pure, survival instinct.
Chapter 17
ELENA
I TURNED.
