She Drew Our Love, She Drew Our End Chapter 09

She Drew Our Love, She Drew Our End Chapter 09

After Ethan and Sloane went to prison,

Prescott Biomedical and Mercer Group shares plunged, and I released every piece of damaging evidence I had

on the two of them.

That included every inappropriate thing they’d said and done in the condo that was supposed to become my

home.

So no, I never believed Ethan knew nothing about what Sloane was doing.

Then I used my expertise to take the research project Prescott Biomedical desperately needed to survive.

Nathan joined forces with several other companies, and together they carved up what was left of both family

empires.

I was there when Nathan took over Prescott Biomedical.

I stood beside him.

Mrs. Prescott and I held each other’s gaze for a second. Then I looked away.

Falling from the top of society into the dirt would hurt far more after a lifetime of having everything.

What I wanted most

was for Ethan and Sloane to walk out of prison

with nothing and no one left to lean on.

When your choices get someone killed,

why should one flimsy “I’m sorry” erase any of it?

It took five years for my hatred to finally burn itself out.

During those five years,

Nathan kept pursuing me, but he never pushed, never crossed a line.

I sometimes thought

that if my life followed the kind of novel people liked to read,

then, as the heroine,

I was supposed to choose him.

I’d marry him. We’d have children.

He would respect me and love me,

and we’d live happily ever after.

But every time I pictured it,

I saw Sloane reaching into that decision jar again.

No matter how much I tried to deny it,

the two of them had still left shadows behind in my life.

The first thing they stole from me was the ability to love without fear.

So the moment those five years were up,

I laid my resignation letter on Nathan’s desk.

He gave me a helpless smile.

“I knew you’d leave when the time came.”

“But I think this is what you really want.”

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a recommendation letter.

It was for a research institute in Cambridge, England, where I could bury myself in academic work.

Maybe I’d finally have time for a PhD.

He lifted one hand before I could speak.

“Don’t say thank you. You know that isn’t what I want from you.

“But more than anything, I want you to be happy. I want the world to feel wide open to you again.”

“Emma, this isn’t who you used to be. You were confident, bright, compassionate. You never once believed you were less than anyone else.”

“I hope a new place helps you find that version of yourself again.”

I smiled too.

“Okay.”

Life overseas moved quickly.

My coworkers and friends were warm, lively people.

Away from everyone who had known me in Houston, away from everything tied to that old life,

I finally stopped living inside the damage the decision jar had done to me.

I helped Mom open a small restaurant so she could spend her days doing what she loved.

At first, she had trouble adjusting

Before long, she was so busy I barely saw her,

That was a good thing. We were both moving forward.

Then, one day,

I found a pile of cheap cigarette butts downstairs.

Each one had been smoked almost to the filter.

I didn’t stop. I didn’t look around.

The next time I heard about Ethan or Sloane,

someone said with a sigh,

“Who would’ve thought the Prescotts and Mercers would fall that fast? I heard that after Ethan and Sloane got out, both sets of parents pooled what they had and tried to start over.”

“But the two of them are convicted felons. Nobody would hire them, so they ended up running a stall at a

flea market.”

“They finally saved enough to cover a month’s expenses, then Ethan took some trip overseas for God knows what reason and came back with every cent gone.”

“Sloane dropped to the ground screaming. Ethan just stood there on that bad leg and didn’t say a word. Oh, and get this.”

“Nobody knows what possessed him, but while he was in prison, he broke one of his own arms and one of

his own legs.”

“Apparently, he called it penance.”

As the person talked,

they kept sneaking looks at me.

I lowered my eyes and walked away without a word.

Now I could do whatever I wanted,

buy whatever I liked,

and never again let sotnebody else’s draw from a jar decide my life.

That freedom felt good.

As for everything that came before,

the wind had carried it away. Nothing but a nightmare now.

(The End)