...
❝He was the poison I was dying to taste on my lips.❞
...
I was a coward.
The coward who wanted to leave behind the wreckage of her life for the man who had tormented her for as long as she could remember. The boy who had spit venom at me gro...
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DAYS PASSED. TORTUROUSLY. Treacherously. Silently. But it was self-inflicted silence as I locked myself in my room, barely leaving for the judgment in my grandfather's eyes that dug a deeper pit into my stomach each time he realised I hadn't done what I'd assured I would.
"It's been three days," he'd said to me yesterday. "You need to end it with River."
"I know." I swallowed hard. "I will."
"When?"
"I..." I trailed off, the words forcing themselves out of my mouth as his face grew more grim. "Tomorrow. We're meeting to oversee the final touches for the gala. I'll tell him then."
Gulzar had nodded, walking off as I sunk into my seat, pushing my face into my hands. What had I just said?
It seemed that my regret had made the time fly faster and the sun rose the next day before I could even comprehend, and I got ready to leave, a dark cloud hanging over me.
I slowly moved down the stairs, wishing I could go back in time. Back to before I'd found out the truth. Back to when I'd been falling in love with River and happy. Back to before I'd returned to Glésford, before everything had turned to shit.
My grandfather waited by the doors as I walked closer, bidding me goodbye and a look that said do it.
I merely nodded, stepping out into the vicious chill and to the car, where not even the warmth of the heat managed to warm my blood. I rubbed my arms gently, watching the tall buildings pass by, each with thousands of stories carved into them. People had walked into them over the years, leaving their traces, all with a different background and story. Some happy, some miserable, some merely existing, some broken-hearted.
In the end, after I'd left Glésford, I would also just be a story. Incomplete and dismal, for I'd leave both times with dejection a heavy pit in my stomach.
"We're here, miss," our driver announced, coming to a stop by the familiar mausoleum.
"Thanks," I mumbled, stepping out and shutting the door behind me. I offered him a slight wave, knowing he'd still be waiting when I came back. Gulzar's strict orders.
Tanya welcomed me warmly as I strolled further in, noticing River up front, discussing something with a few men as they stood by some statues. Wax, marble, wood and even mud ones. He was pointing at a few spots that would be good placement points and listened intently as the others said something.
He hadn't noticed me yet so I took the side stairs with Tanya to the first floor to ensure the tables were laid out correctly. There had to be at least a hundred, all positioned with just enough space away from each other so that it didn't seem chaotic or claustrophobic, and their intentional positioning allowed for a pretty large dance floor in the middle and a stage up front for the auction.
