Chapter 10
Dry leaves whipped around the cemetery.
Freya stood still, clutching a bouquet, eyes locked on the shared tombstone. She didn’t say a word–just stared at the photo carved into the stone.
A leaf landed on her shoulder. She sighed, long and slow.
Then she turned, fake pouting over her shoulder.
“Seriously, Demi? You two are snails. My arms are gonna fall off!”
Pregnant now, I moved like a sloth. Terrance hovered like I’d shatter.
He barely left my side. The shareholders were losing it.
He couldn’t care less.
We finally made it to Mike and Cecilia’s grave.
I couldn’t shake the memory–the sniper across the street, two clean shots.
By the time I got there, Mike was already dead. Cecilia was barely hanging on.
“Demi… why… why did I lose again…? I did everything Mom said. Wasn’t I supposed to marry well and live happy?”
She’d asked that so many times, I stopped knowing what to say.
Once, she really did see me as her sister.
But over time, those twisted lessons got to her. Slowly, I became the villain in her story.
In the end, she was just another girl thrown away by her own family.
A tear slipped down as I watched her story end.
There was no villain here. She just never figured out how to be okay.
She died in my arms, and I caught myself patting her shoulder–like we were kids again.
“Go to sleep. When you wake up, it’ll be a new day.”
She tried to speak, but the blood choked it out. Just silent tears and a grip on my sleeve.
Then she was gone.
Terrance tapped my shoulder, gentle.
“Thinking about it again?”
1/2
Chapter 10
$25 Bonus
Some people got their happy endings, others didn’t.
Maybe it was always meant to go this way.
At least I wasn’t stuck in that Spencer family nightmare anymore, living scared every second.
Now? I could finally breathe–with someone who actually loved me.
Total blessing in disguise.
I smiled, squeezing Terrance’s hand.
“Just feeling a little sentimental. Didn’t your parents say they’re flying back tonight?”
Freya grinned.
“Yeah, to baby you during pregnancy! Like my brother knows how to take care of anyone with those caveman hands. Let’s go, Demi! I even cooked! You have to try it!”
Terrance made a face.
“You cooked? Babe, let’s just grab takeout.”
Freya tackled him, yelling about how rude he was.
We left the cemetery, laughing and talking smack.
Another year, another fresh start.
