Chapter 9
“Avery, you little brat!”
“Avery, I’m sorry…”
I couldn’t find a single word to defend myself.
All those reasons I was so sure about–after reading her diary, I couldn’t say any of it.
Because I never deserved Avery.
I flipped to the very last page. She’d filled it completely with the same phrase over and over:
Hunter Drake is a liar.
She was right.
Hunter Drake was the biggest liar in the world.
Hunter Drake failed Avery.
Hunter Drake deserved to rot in hell.
I threw my head back in agony, couldn’t read another word…
Because I had to face the truth–Avery really was dead. Because of my stupidity and betrayal, there was no more Avery in this world who loved me like her own life.
I dug my nails into my palms like I was punishing myself.
The lights felt like an interrogation room, exposing every guilty thought with nowhere to hide.
I spent the whole night thinking.
How did Avery and I end up like this?
Every memory was like a needle stabbing through my heart–all those cruel things I’d said to her.
I started running away.
Running from a world without Avery, from the damage I’d done to her that I could never fix.
After that night, I locked myself in the house.
Nothing but cigarette butts and empty bottles around me.
I couldn’t even force myself to leave that room.
Until someone broke the door down.
Curtains flew open, harsh sunlight burning my eyes.
Bella grabbed me, trying to drag me outside:
Jah Ya Carrana!
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Chapter 9
“How long are you gonna keep this up? What about your company? Your life?”
For once she was being rational. This time, I was the mess.
I sat on the floor like dead weight, letting her pull at me.
She worked up a sweat trying to drag me but couldn’t budge me. Meanwhile, tears were streaming down her face.
“The Hunter I know doesn’t do this shit. How long are you gonna waste away over Avery? She’s not the only girl on the planet–I’m literally right here!
Can’t you see me? Or are you gonna be a pussy your whole life and never admit you want me more than you ever wanted her?”
Hearing that name–the one that was tattooed on my soul–made something in my dead heart twitch.
For like two seconds.
I let out this hollow laugh, grabbed a bottle of Jack, and chugged it straight. The whiskey burned going down, eyes watering from the sting.
“Look, I used to wonder if maybe I caught feelings for you. But Bella? Hell no. Never happened. Whatever I feel for you is just conditioning–our moms have been feeding me that bullshit since we were five. Family friends, your granddad saved mine, blah blah blah, so I gotta treat you like gold. Like my little sister. But that’s not love.”
I knew what real love felt like.
I loved Avery for years, and I fucking destroyed it all at the worst possible moment.
How could I be such a complete idiot?!
Bella was classic Bella–allergic to truth, couldn’t handle anything that didn’t stroke her ego.
Probably trying to piss me off, she went on a rampage, smashing everything in sight.
I didn’t even flinch.
Until she stormed into the room where I kept Avery’s pictures.
My chest seized up. I went absolutely mental trying to grab the frame from her.
She dodged, lunged for another one.
I scrambled to protect them, but there were too many and she was moving like a damn tornado. I’d save one photo, she’d already grabbed
another to destroy.
This insane back–and–forth I don’t know how many times.
Then–CRASH–that awful sound of glass exploding.
Bella swept all my perfectly arranged photos off the dresser in one vicious swipe.
They hit the hardwood and exploded into a million pieces.
Through all that shattered glass, Avery’s beautiful smile was carved up into fragments, each shard reflecting in my eyes like tiny daggers freezing my blood solid.
Bella looked absolutely thrilled with herself:
Chapter 9
“This is why you can’t get over her–all this shrine bullshit! Since you won’t throw it away yourself, I’ll do it for you. Once I scrub every trace of that dead bitch from your life, maybe you’ll stop being such a pathetic waste of space!”
I can’t remember how long her destruction lasted. When the chaos finally stopped, I was sitting in the middle of all that broken glass.
And her previously flawless face now had my handprint blazing red across her cheek.
Bella had never been slapped in her pampered little life. She stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
Finally managed to speak, voice shaking with rage:
“Avery’s dead, Hunter. Are you planning to off yourself and follow her?”
Follow her…?
I looked down at the biggest glass shard next to my foot.
Suddenly, all the confusion that had been eating me alive for weeks just… clicked.
“Yeah. That sounds perfect actually.”
I smiled and gave her the most honest answer I’d given anyone in months.
Bella’s face was burning red with rage. She threw out a “You’re fucking hopeless” and bounced.
But whatever. Who cares?
I sat down hard, letting the glass shards bite into my legs. Grabbed the biggest piece and wrapped my fingers around it.
The moment that cold edge touched my wrist, I felt this weird sense of relief.
Then crimson started flooding my vision.
That red was so damn bright–exactly like the bloodstains those cops showed me all over Avery’s wedding dress.
Sharp, searing pain shot through every nerve.
But all that suffocating pressure in my chest finally found an escape route.
One slash wasn’t enough to make it stop. So I went for two. Two didn’t cut it, literally–so three…
Until I was shaking so hard I couldn’t even hold the glass anymore.
I just collapsed, drowning in my own blood.
This was it. Game over.
Because I swear to God, I started seeing Avery through the haze.
There was this weird white mist, but her face looked perfect. Exactly like I remembered.
I tried reaching for her, desperate to touch her one more time, but some dude stepped right in front of me.
He was being all tender, lifting her veil, holding her face like she was made of glass, giving her this sweet kiss.
The whole place erupted–people cheering, applause, the works.
Chapter 9
But that guy? That wasn’t me.
Avery was marrying someone else!
1 fought to get up, tried to stop the whole thing, blood loss making me dizzy as hell.
But it was like there was bulletproof glass between us. Couldn’t touch her, couldn’t scream loud enough for her to hear.
The sick part? I could hear every single word from their side.
Some officiant asking if she’d take this man as her husband.
For better or worse, richer or poorer, all that traditional bullshit.
I was like–no way she’s saying yes. Avery swore she’d only marry me, ever.
Then-
“I do!”
Zero hesitation. She was practically glowing as she jumped into this stranger’s arms.
I watched them slide rings on each other’s fingers, watched them kiss like they were the only two people in the universe…
Everything was going black, but my heart was literally breaking apart in my chest.
Right before I went under completely, this robotic voice echoed from nowhere:
[Male lead Hunter Drake terminated. Per system modification, female lead Avery Wilde granted new world contract with guaranteed happiness and full lifespan.]
I couldn’t process all that tech shit, but two things hit me like a freight train.
Avery wasn’t crazy–there really was some kind of system controlling everything.
And me dying somehow bought her a shot at real happiness.
That was… actually perfect.
Guess that’s what I get for being a cheating, lying piece of trash.
So here’s to Avery–living her dream life without me screwing it up.
No more backstabbing, no more heartbreak, and definitely no more pathological liar destroying everything good in her world…
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
