The rain pelted against my skin, a cold contrast to the hot tears streaming down my face. Each step sent jolts of pain from my twisted ankle up my leg, but I kept moving, desperate to put distance between myself and the nightclub—between myself and Rhys.
Four years. Four whole years I'd spent building myself up from the broken shell he'd left me in, and with just a few words, he'd made me feel like that rejected, worthless omega all over again.
*"Dirty women like her... Nothing pretty... Whores..."*
His cruel words echoed in my mind, cutting deeper with each replay. I stumbled, my ankle giving out beneath me. My hand shot out to catch myself against the wet brick wall of a building, but my palm slipped on the slick surface. I barely managed to stay upright.
"Get it together, Elara," I whispered to myself, my voice breaking. "Don't let him destroy you again."