Chapter 3 Broken Wings

Kimberly ran.

Her heels clattered against the marble floors of the hotel corridor, each step echoing like a hammer inside her skull. Her lungs burned, her breath came out ragged and uneven, but she didn't stop.

Alexander's voice still rang behind her,hoarse, desperate and pleading but it no longer sounded like the man she loved. To her ears, it wasn't an explanation. It was betrayal.

Her reflection flashed across the elevator doors as they slid shut, trapping her inside the mirrored walls. The woman staring back looked like a stranger-eyes swollen, lipstick smudged, tears cutting paths through her foundation.

She whispered to her reflection, voice trembling, "What did I do wrong?"

The elevator hummed downward, every floor feeling like a lifetime. By the time the doors opened, she was barely holding herself upright.

The hotel lobby sparkled around her, chandeliers dripping gold light across the marble floor. People laughed softly, staff moved elegantly, everything was still painfully normal.

Kimberly's world, however, had already collapsed.

She pushed through the revolving doors and stumbled into the night.

The cold air hit her face but it didn't soothe her. It couldn't. She was burning inside, every heartbeat fanning the flames of disbelief and heartbreak.

Her sobs broke free, raw and unrestrained, echoing off the empty street.

"Why?" she whispered to the night. "Why would you do this to me?"

She tried to breathe, but her chest refused to obey. Every inhale scraped her throat like glass. Her hands trembled as she clutched her coat tighter, as though holding herself together by force.

Her mind wouldn't stop replaying it,Summer on top of him,his lips forming words she could no longer hear. No, it's not what it looks like. Lies, she told herself. All of it lies.

He promised me forever.

Her legs weakened. The streetlights blurred through her tears.

"I loved you," she whispered again, the words barely sound.

The city swirled around her,neon headlights, laughter from somewhere distant but none of it reached her. It all blurred into meaningless color. She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering even though the night was warm.

Then came the glare of headlights.

Too close. Too fast.

She froze, caught in the blinding light. Her mind screamed for her to move, but her body refused.

The screech of tires tore through the night.

And then-impact.

The sound was deafening. Glass exploded. Her body lifted and hit the ground with a force that ripped the air from her lungs. Shards scattered across the pavement, glittering cruelly under the streetlights. Pain tore through her limbs-hot, unbearable, consuming.

For one suspended moment, she saw the sky-a wash of black and gold and thought of Alexander's eyes, the way they used to soften when he said her name.

Then everything went dark.

The car sped away, its red taillights shrinking into nothing, swallowed by the night.

The street fell silent except for the faint hum of the wind.

Moments later, another vehicle screeched to a halt.

A man and his driver rushed out, his breath catching at the sight before him. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911,shouting into it. "My God! Somebody help! Call an ambulance!"

He dropped to his knees beside her, pressing his hands against her wounds, trying to stop the bleeding. His voice shook but his words came strong, determined.

"Stay with me. Please... don't give up now."

Kimberly's lashes fluttered weakly. Her lips parted, a small, broken sound escaping. She tried to form words, but none came. Her hand twitched once against the cold pavement before falling still.

Sirens wailed in the distance, faint at first, then growing louder. But her world was fading, slipping through her fingers like sand.

---

Across town, Summer sat cross-legged on her bed, a glass of wine balanced between her fingers.

The suite was dim, candles flickering lazily against the walls. She leaned back against the bed, the corners of her lips lifting slightly as she stared at nothing in particular.

She replayed the image again and again.Kimberly's face when she opened that door. The shock, the disbelief, the devastation. It had been... perfect.

She whispered to herself, almost dreamily, "Now she knows how it feels again."

Her golden hair tumbled over her shoulder as she moved toward the mirror. She swirled the wine slowly, humming under her breath. But when her eyes met her reflection, something flickered.

The smile faded.

Because one truth refused to die quietly.

Alexander had resisted her.

Even drugged, even trapped,he hadn't yielded. His arms trembled as he pushed her away. His voice, weak and cracked, had still managed to form Kimberly's name.

That memory burned her.

Her fingers tightened around the glass until her knuckles whitened. "He still wanted her," she whispered, the words trembling with anger.

Her reflection stared back, mocking her with cold clarity.

"Why her?" she breathed.

Her nails dug into her palms until tiny crescents of blood appeared.

The glass slipped slightly in her hand, trembling as she clenched her jaw.

She had broken Kimberly's heart-yes. But victory tasted nothing like she'd imagined.

And with each breath she took, that envy deepened into something darker,an ache that no triumph could ease.