Chapter 12
Ronan’s words sent Arden over the edge.
With the police closing in, she lunged at me, knife in hand.
Ronan froze, panic flashing in his eyes,
“Arden, stop! If you’re angry, take it out on me. Don’t hurt her!”
But she wasn’t listening.
the officers shouted for her to drop the weapon, she drove the knife forward.
Before I could react, Ronan threw himself in front of me.
The blade sank into his chest.
I stared in shock as he turned toward me, blood seeping through his shirt.
He raised a trembling hand, brushing it against my face.
“This… this is the last thing I’ll ever do for you,” he whispered.
Then he collapsed, his body crumpling to the ground as medics rushed in to carry him away,
Arden was restrained by the police, screaming as they dragged her off.
“I’ll never forgive you! Never!”
That night, it all ended.
Ronan survived, but the injury left him in a coma, a vegetative state with no signs of recovery. Arden was sentenced to prison for attempted murder.
And me?
For the first time, I felt free.
I falled my sister that evening, something I hadn’t done in years.
She didn’t hate me, not really.
She had just been angry that I’d let my parents down.
A month later, on the anniversary of my parents‘ passing, 1 knelt with her at their graves.
I bowed my head like a child caught in a mistake, apologizing over and over.
My sister placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“Eve, don’t carry this weight forever. Let it go.”
She handed me a yellowed letter, one I had never seen before.
It was from my parents, written after I’d insisted on marrying Ronan.
In it, they had detailed everything they wanted to give me: a house, three bank accounts, a car. Their closing words were simple: “All we want is for our daughter to be happy.”
As the wind picked up, a photograph fell from the letter.
It was a picture of the four of us, taken when I was ten
Tears welled in my eyes as I clutched my sister’s hand.
14:21
