The night wind slapped against my face as I floored the gas, skimming past red lights.
The GPS route felt like a steel wire tightening around my nerves.
Twenty minutes later, I reached the hotel.
Even before I fully stopped the car, I saw her.
She was wearing that white dress, so familiar it hurt to look at.
Her arm was looped around the arm of a strange man standing at the lobby entrance.
She was smiling, resting her head on his shoulder, whispering something softly.
They walked into the lobby together, perfectly in sync like a couple.
My fingers clenched the steering wheel, knuckles white, joints creaking.
My heart slammed wildly in my chest, blow after blow pounding in my ears.
At that moment, I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.
She was gone.
We were finished.
The fury inside me roared to life, like wildfire consuming everything in its path, reducing my world to ashes and mockery.
I flung the door open and stormed out. My shoes scraped the curb. I didn’t even feel it.
I ran toward the hotel like a madman, throat burning, my eyes locked on their backs.
But before I could reach the entrance, something struck the back of my head.
A sharp, searing pain shot through me.
Darkness swallowed my vision.