The East Garden was quiet now.
But Sasha's mind wasn't. She sat on the low stone bench nearby her head bowed, arms crossed tightly around her body as if trying to hold herself together. The conversation with Ryker echoed in her head, each word laced with venom and clarity. Her lips were pressed into a thin line and her gray eyes stared at the cracked stone path before her but she didn't see it.
She saw Emily.
Her sister's laughter on rainy days, the way she used to braid Sasha's hair and tease her about her scowl. The quiet nights when Emily could not sleep, trembling and refusing to say why. And finally, the blood. She remembered her cold, lifeless body. The smell of it in the bathroom. The letter soaked in tears and regret.
Sasha clutched her arms tighter.
Ryker knew. He knew. Every detail, every failure, every thought she had tried to bury. And worse he used it and She hated him for it.
And yet…
She wasn't walking away.
"Am I a fool?" she whispered aloud, voice hoarse.
