It took nearly a decade for Evelyn to come to terms with it. People leave. Parents, lovers—it doesn’t matter. In the end, everyone leaves.
By the time she graduated college and her mother announced she was remarrying, Evelyn accepted it without protest. She’d already learned to expect abandonment.
But then came Christopher.
Despite all her scars, she gave him everything—her trust, her heart, her love—without hesitation. And just when she thought she’d finally found someone to hold onto, she discovered the truth.
There was someone else.
For the sake of that other woman, Christopher belittled her, punished her and humiliated her. Even when Evelyn spiraled into depression, even after she attempted to end her life multiple times, he barely noticed.
No one in this world had ever truly cherished her—not her father, not her mother, not Christopher.
Love always has an expiration date. Once it’s over, it’s gone forever.
Evelyn had once fought against that truth, but now she’d experienced it so often that she’d grown numb.
When she finally opened her eyes, two days had passed. An IV drip was attached to her hand and a fever-reducing patch rested on her forehead.