Chapter 7
She wore a silver cocktail dress–understated, yet undeniably luxurious. Around her neck glimmered an expensive diamond necklace.
I didn’t have to ask where it came from; it was obvious Daniel had bought it to soothe her wounded pride.
“Corinna, do you really think being the Gardner heiress will protect you forever?“}
“You’ve bullied me for so long–did you honestly believe I’d never fight back?”
“I’ll make you pay for this a thousand times over.”
“So what if you know about Trevor and me? He loves me. Your brother only loves me, too.”
“Someone like you–no one could ever love you.”
She rattled off her tirade, bitter and relentless, but I just smiled, replying with a single line:
“So, how did you like the taste of toilet water?”
Her face went rigid, color draining from her cheeks, and I turned and walked away without another word.”
By dusk, the fiery sunset fanned out across the sky, burning the horizon gold and crimson.
A gaggle of us from the dance team had changed into our costumes and were hurrying down the corridor, skirts gathered in our hands, bound for the backstage prep room.\
Halfway there, I realized I was missing the prop I’d prepped for the curtain call.
Did I leave it back in the studio?
thought
‘thought it through, then decided to double back and look for it.
“Want me to come with you?” Lynda offered.
“It’s fine. It’s not heavy–i can manage.“”
I grinned. “You guys go get your makeup done. Maybe find the set designer and work out the order for our props.”
The whole building was eerily quiet, echoing with my footsteps.
I picked up the hem of my golden dress and took the stairs two at a time.
Just as I reached the landing outside the dance studio, I stopped dead.”
A figure stood just a few steps above.
The sunset poured through the window, catching only half his face in its glow. The rest was submerged in shadow, his eyes deep and unreadable, like whirlpools in the dark.
Trevor.
His voice was low, the sound of a storm threatening at the edge of his words.”
“Corinna, what are you doing?“!
“None of your damn business. Get lost.“%
I tried to brush past him, stepping up, but suddenly something yanked hard at my shoulder.
I froze for a split second–then the world tipped out from under me.
The next thing I knew, I was falling–tumbling down the steep staircase, my back slamming against the steps, pain exploding everywhere.
I landed hard by the iron railing, a bolt of agony shooting through my ankle. I could almost hear the bone threaten to snap.
Trevor walked down the stairs, step by measured step, stopping next to me.
He looked at me with those calm, sorrowful eyes.
ཟ ཤ ་ ང – ཥ = ཅ ༑ ཞ ་ ་ ཤ ཤ ཆ ཤ༴ ཆ ཇ
But when he spoke, his voice was cold as stone.
“Corinna, don’t blame me.”
“You were born with everything. Even if you miss this chance, there’ll always be another path for you.” “But Julie isn’t like you.”
“She’s already done everything she possibly can.”
He reached for my injured ankle, gripped it tight–and slammed my leg toward the iron railing.
Suddenly, I saw a flash frorn my nightmares: Trevor standing outside the hospital room with my brother, both gazing with infinite tenderness at Julie as she was wheeled out of surgery.
But when he spoke about me, his tone was flat, indifferent: “I’ve never once regretted it.”
Fifteen years–the best, brightest years of my life.!!
All my love, all my trust, wasted on someone like this.
Allaugh broke out of me, manic and sharp. Just before he could bash my leg against the railing, I twisted free from his grasp.
“Pathetic.”
Pain lanced up my twisted ankle, stealing my breath, but I didn’t hesitate. While Trevor was still stunned, I grabbed a fistful of his hair and slammed his head against the iron bars.
“Filthy bastard–you want to hurt me again? Dream on!”
Chapter 7
His skull hit the metal with a sickening thud.
He staggered, blood instantly welling from a gash on his forehead, streaming down his face and dripping onto his shirt.
“Corinna…”
