Chapter 10

Epilogue

Sean's POV

The moment I found out Thea Brown had spent five years in prison, I felt like everything inside me had shattered.

How long must she have been torturing herself to speak about it so casually? To talk about something so monstrous like it was just another part of her past?

I couldn't imagine what she'd gone through, but all I could think was that I wanted to strangle Sophie. Hell, I wanted to strangle myself, too.

I'd warned Sophie to stay the hell away from Thea, but of course, she didn't listen.

And so, I did what I said I would. I kept my word, even if it meant going after Thea's family. Her father, her brothers. They were the ones who mattered most to her. So I hit them where it hurt.

But in the end, none of that changed anything.

The day I finally told Thea the truth was the worst day of my life. Even when I thought she had abandoned me, I'd never felt this much pain.

What I came to realize was that losing her wasn't the worst part. What was worse was knowing just how much she had suffered. How much she had endured in silence.

Her words were like daggers to my chest. And I still haven't figured out how to deal with that.

I hated myself. Why didn't I uncover the truth sooner? Why did Sophie—of all people—figure it out while I had to wait for Thea to tell me herself?

Maybe it's just my fate, I thought. Maybe this is the kind of life I was meant to have.

The day I showed up at her apartment to celebrate her birthday, I'd planned to sneak something into her bathroom while pretending to check the plumbing.

It was a ring—custom-made with the first real paycheck I'd ever earned. The gift I'd wanted to give her all along.

And then, it hit me like a freight train. All those years when I didn't know the truth, when I hated her for leaving me, I never stopped loving her.

When she asked if I wanted some ice cream, I actually did.

In another life, we would've sat there together, shared that ice cream, and maybe—I don't know—found a way to share the same bed.

But I couldn't eat it.

Hell, I couldn't really eat anything anymore.

Two weeks ago, I went to the hospital. I'd been feeling off for a while, but I ignored it. When they told me it was late-stage stomach cancer, I realized something.

I finally understood Thea.

I understood why she made the choices she did. I understood how she felt.

If I hadn't gotten sick, I would've fought for her. I would've spent my life trying to fix things.

But now, I have no choice but to make the same decision she did, all those years ago.

The emergency light in the stairwell was broken. Fixing it was the last thing I could do for her.

(The End)