Her voice is frayed, but gaining force now.
“When Liz was gone, I had nothing left to protect. You were out of prison. Liz was safe. So I decided I was done. I sat Bowie down, looked him in the eyes, and told him exactly how it was going to go.”
She looks back at the ceiling, jaw tight.
“I told him he would let me go, or I’d bury him. I’d destroy the pretty picture he painted for the town, expose his abuse, and feed the FBI just enough dirt to get him and the sheriff both put in a cage. I told him I had evidence. Recordings of him talking on his burner phone. The kind that would make their way in the right hands if something happened to me.”
“I didn’t have shit, but the stupid asshole believed me.”
I stare at her, every word scraping down my spine with claws made of steel.
“He agreed,” she whispers. “He didn't tell the cartel about my threat and I don't know if or how he got permission, but he agreed. As long as I took no money. As long as he was the one to file, so he could play the part of the betrayed husband. I didn’t care. I kept quiet. Hid the divorce from my mother. Waited until the day I finally signed.”
She closes her eyes, and for a second, I swear she stops breathing.
“And the moment it was done, I ran. Packed a small bag, and bolted from Willow Harbor without looking back. Two years later, you found me on the other side of the country.”
Her eyes open again. They’re cold. Hollow.
“When you went to prison, I did the same, Ghost. I lived in mine for a decade and just when I escaped, you came along and built me another one. Gilded the bars. Gave me fake happiness. Fake safety. And the whole time, you were just sharpening your knife. Waiting to fuck me one last time before you cut me open.”
Shame and despair knock against my chest, pulling at my ribs.
“You destroyed me because you couldn’t see past your own pain. You just wanted your revenge. And now you got it.”
I was so fucking blind. We were both finally free. I had happiness in the palms of my hands and what did I do? I spit on it.
“Adora,” I whisper, voice frayed like old rope. “It wasn’t all fake. Yeah, I had a plan, but there were days — weeks, even — when I didn’t even remember how it all started. Prison fucked me up more than I’ve ever admitted. I couldn’t talk about any of it. I was afraid that if I did, I’d shatter the bubble we were living in.”
I hang my head, and try to breathe through the pain.
“But in the end, I shattered it anyway.”
I look up, eyes burning, vision hazy. I don’t care if the tears fall now. There’s nothing left of me to protect.
“It’s so much more twisted — what I said — while holding that gun. Because those were all lies. Every word I spit at you… all lies. The truth is, I fell in love with you again. I don’t think I ever fucking stopped.” The words are cracked, my throat barely working. “I love you.”
But her eyes stay cold. Unforgiving.
“Love is not enough,” she says, her voice just as cold and unforgiving as her eyes. “Not for us.”
She turns her face away from me. “You finally got my truth. But that’s all you’re getting. I’ve paid enough for my lie.”
My chest constricts, panic rising like poison in my veins. I stand, fast, the chair scraping back.
“No,” I rasp. “We’re not done. We are not fucking done, Adora!”
Her eyes snap back to mine, narrowing like she’s about to gut me with her words. But the door opens before she can get them out.
“Leave, Boo-boy,” Ria announces, stepping in like her name is on the building. Her tone is ice. Her eyes could cut through me.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl, already vibrating with tension.
“Who are you?” Adora asks at the same time, confused.
Ria turns to her and softens instantly. “Hi! I’m the woman who fished you out of a freezing river and kept you alive. Well, Kitten fished you, but I kept you alive! Nice to meet you.” She flashes a saccharine smile. “I wanted to see how you were doing and they wouldn’t let me. But they let this asshole!”
She jabs a thumb in my direction. I snarl.
