CHAPTER 42: FRAGMENTS OF A BROKEN HEART

Emmie didn't remember running, but her feet moved faster than they ever had before. She barely registered the cold air against her skin as she bolted down the street, the city around her a blur of gray and neon.

Her mind raced, thoughts colliding in a chaotic mess. Everything was slipping through her fingers. James… Zade… She had trusted them both. She had opened up her heart and let them in, only for them to destroy it from the inside out.

The pain in her chest was sharp, like a wound she couldn't heal. The deeper she ran, the more the truth crushed her.

James—her James—had never truly cared. All those whispers, all those promises, those moments of tenderness she had believed in, were lies. He had used her. He had played her like a fool, and she had let him. Every word, every touch—nothing had been real. The person she thought she loved, the one who had held her close and made her feel like she was worth something… was a lie.

And then there was Zade. The man she thought would be different. The one who had shown her a glimpse of something softer. But now she saw it for what it was. His kindness? Manipulation. His comfort? Control. He hadn't cared about her at all. He had seen her weakness, and he had exploited it. Taken advantage of her when she was too drunk to think straight.

The betrayal was suffocating. The weight of it pressed on her chest like an iron vice, and she felt like she couldn't breathe.

By the time she reached her front door, her legs were shaking, and her heart was pounding in her ears. She fumbled with the keys, the sound of the metal against the lock echoing in her skull. But when the door finally swung open, she didn't feel relief. She only felt emptier.

She dropped her keys on the table with a clatter and stumbled inside, her body moving without her mind's permission. She couldn't think. Couldn't focus. The tears that had been threatening to fall for hours finally spilled over, hot and desperate, blurring her vision.

Everything she knew had been shattered. Her love for James, her trust in Zade, her belief that things could be different for her—they were all gone. She had given herself away so easily, so stupidly. And now there was nothing left.

Nothing but the sound of her own broken sobs.

She collapsed onto the couch, her head in her hands, and for a long moment, she could only cry. She cried for herself, for the girl who had believed in love and in people. She cried for the woman she was now—lost and shattered, unsure of who she even was anymore.

The silence of the apartment pressed in around her, suffocating, and it felt like she was drowning in it. She had lost everything—utterly everything.

And there was no one to blame but herself.

She had one last option, the very person that warned her about it all. The very person who told her she was being delusional.

The one person who gave her the bitter pill that she refused to swallow.

She was nervous, depressed and sad, very anxious about her arrival.

******

Emmie stood by the window again.

The fifth time in twenty minutes.

She wasn't even pretending to look at anything now. Just the heavy breath of the city beyond the glass, the distant hum of car horns and the scent of rain clinging to the air after an almost-storm. Her reflection in the pane stared back at her—still, pale, eyes flickering every time she thought she heard a footstep in the hallway.

She moved away quickly, too quickly, rubbing her arms though it wasn't cold. The apartment was unusually quiet. Too quiet. The folded blanket on the couch hadn't been used all week, and the mug on the counter was already washed and placed upside down on the rack. Even the books were aligned by height, a sign of Emmie's boredom—or her nerves.

She glanced at her phone again.

7:04 PM.

She said she'd come around seven.

"Don't be ridiculous," Emmie muttered, and went to fluff the couch cushions. Again. The worn fabric felt more unfamiliar tonight, like the place wasn't really theirs. It felt like a hotel suite—impersonal and too quiet.

It had been a while since she came to this place.

Home.

A soft knock on the door.

Emmie froze.

Not the doorbell—a knock.

She walked slowly to the entrance, her fingers grazing the wall as if to ground herself. She didn't look through the peephole. She already knew. Her hand hesitated on the doorknob a fraction longer than necessary, then turned.

She opened the door.

There she was.

Framed in the hallway light, damp curls sticking to her cheekbones, a dark coat clinging to her figure.

"Hey? I didn't know you were coming. Is everything okay?" the woman asked, unsure, voice soft but soaked in something deeper. Something like worry. Or confusion.

Emmie blinked. Suddenly, more tears started started gathering in her eyes.

It was getting difficult to breathe, to see clearly. She suddenly threw herself at the woman. Her walls crushing.

She wept bitterly. 

She cried for about 10 minutes till there was no more tears left to cry.

Emmie stepped aside without a word and let her in.

There was a silence as the door clicked shut, both of them standing in the small entryway, neither removing their coats nor making the first move. 

Worry was rolling out of the woman in waves.

"Is this what i think it is...," the woman finally said.

Emmie nodded her head slowly glancing down at the floor that suddenly looked interesting.

She was ashamed.

Humiliated.

Used.

"I warned you about that fool!" the woman said.

A pause.

Silence.

More silence

"Tell me what happened! What did he do to you?" the woman's voice echoed loudly, anger seeping through every word.

"I.....I.." Emmie stuttered, words failing her.

"Everything, tell me everything" the woman demanded.

"Okay..." Emmie said barely above a whisper.