My Fiance Said Betrayal Was Mutual Revenge Chapter 04

My Fiance Said Betrayal Was Mutual Revenge Chapter 04

How did he get in here? Before I could even form another thought, his hands were on me, my face, my neck, moving lower with sickening obsession. Terror cracked my voice open. “Jasper! Are you insane?! My fiancé is Kyler Harlan!”

The name hit him like a physical blow. His pupils shrank. Then his palm cracked across my face. Left. Right. My eardrums felt close to rupturing. Blood trickled warm from my ear. He smiled. It was diseased.

“Elowen, you’re mine. What’s so great about him anyway? You still don’t know, do you? Brynn and Kyler? They’ve been making out in front of all of us for ages.”

I stopped moving. So even the so-called confession was a lie.

Seeing me go still beneath him, he went into a frenzy, tearing at my clothes. I fought. I was losing.

Then the door exploded inward. Kyler. Fists flying. Blow after blow, no restraint, like he wanted to kill. Blood sprayed across his face. He didn’t stop until Jasper was unconscious. Then he wrapped his arms around me, his body trembling. “It’s over. I’m here now, Elowen. Don’t be scared.”

For a moment, I was back in time, after my father’s death, when I was getting bullied, he used to hold me the exact same way. Then his gaze dropped. He saw the marks on my skin. And I saw it.

That flicker of disgust. It was like a bucket of ice water to the heart. I shoved him off, stumbled to the bathroom, and scrubbed myself raw under the water. Tears and shower spray mixed together. I slapped myself. Hard. Be ruthless.

When I came out, Kyler was gone. A message on my phone. He said Brynn was a wreck, blaming herself because of Jasper, threatening to leave. I didn’t respond. I packed my things and went straight to the hospital.

My mom’s final round of medication had just finished. I pushed open the door to get her out of there. And froze. Kyler and Brynn were on their knees in front of her bed. Hands clasped together. Eyes red. Making vows.

“Mrs. Peterson, just give us your blessing! You can’t use Elowen’s father to emotionally blackmail me out of my right to love someone else!”

My mom’s chest heaved with rage. “You—after everything—how dare you do this to Elowen!”

My scalp prickled. The urge to act clawed at me like ants beneath my skin. I was about to storm in when Brynn shot to her feet, crying, begging Kyler. “Kyler, please. We can’t do this. Elowen is my best friend!”

My mom couldn’t take any more. She swung herself off the bed and raised her hand to slap Brynn. “You bitch! You remember she’s your best friend now?!”

But the slap never landed. Kyler stepped in and took it. “Mrs. Peterson! You’ve crossed the line!”

My mom’s eyes blazed red. She opened her mouth to scream at them. Then she clutched her chest and collapsed backward.

The moment she hit the ground, my entire heart shredded apart. I lunged forward, insane with terror, cradling her as I screamed. “Kyler! Get a doctor! She’s dying!”

Kyler was already carrying Brynn toward the door. “Brynn’s having a depressive episode! She needs help first!”

My vision went white with rage. “Help!” My scream echoed down the hallway.

They got my mom into the OR. But before I could even breathe, the doctor told me the surgical fee was twenty thousand dollars. I knew Kyler had been covering all her medical bills. I called him. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. It rang. He hung up. Again. Hung up.

When he finally picked up, his voice came through thick with anger. “Kyler—I need money for the surgery—”

“Money. It’s always about money with you. You sent Brynn into a full-blown breakdown, and now you’ve got the nerve to ask me for cash?” The line went dead.

I couldn’t get through again. I searched everywhere. He was gone. By the time I got back to the hospital, the light above the operating room was off.

The doctor’s voice was heavy with pity. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

I stood there, staring at the doors. Then the scream tore out of me, broken, animal, unbearable. “Doctor, please, just wait, I can get the money… just give me a second!”

But they were already wheeling her out. She was gone. The hatred and the unwillingness to leave me were still frozen on her face. I wailed until there was nothing left.

…

Three days later, I scattered her ashes over Maple River. That was where my father died pulling Kyler from the water.

Dad, Mom’s coming to find you now. Do you see her?

Then I picked up my plane ticket and boarded without looking back. Kyler, from now on, there’s an ocean of hate between us. You and I will never meet again.