Chapter 89- I Grieved You

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"Human remains

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"Human remains." The officer's voice echoes in my mind, a haunting whisper that refuses to fade.

A week has passed. A week of unbearable silence, of waiting in James's empty penthouse for a man who isn't coming back. The weight of his absence presses down on me like a boulder, crushing my chest with every passing moment.

Because the truth is, he's gone. And no matter how much I wish otherwise, he isn't returning.

The forensic test results were a knife to the heart, the confirmation ripping away the last fragile thread of hope I clung to. Positive for James's DNA. The words reverberated through me like a death knell, their finality searing into my soul. It was him.

My throat tightens, my chest aching with a pain so raw it feels like my ribs might shatter. I lean my forehead against my knees, arms wrapped tightly around them as if I can hold myself together. But the numbness has settled in—a cold, suffocating blanket wrapping around me and refusing to let go.

His voice, his words, play on a loop in my head. I love you, Scarlett. No matter what happens. At the time, I thought he was simply being dramatic, but now, they feel like a goodbye. A warning. As if he knew his time was running out. His last caresses, the way his fingers lingered against my skin as if memorizing me, now feel like echoes of a farewell I didn't understand.

My lungs constrict as I let myself remember. The feel of his hands, his warmth, the way his blue eyes could strip away every layer of my defenses and see straight into my soul. The crooked smirk he gave me when he knew he had me exactly where he wanted me. His laugh, rare and low, a sound I would give anything to hear again. And now, I never will.

The images are relentless, searing into my mind with an unyielding cruelty. The thought of him in that warehouse, trapped, engulfed in flames, his body reduced to ash and bone—it's unbearable. My stomach twists, nausea churning as the reality claws at me. It had to be Nicolas. Who else would dare to strike at him? Who else could orchestrate something this vicious, this final?

Tears burn at the corners of my eyes, but I'm too hollow to let them fall. My grief isn't just sadness—it's rage, helpless and seething. Nicolas did this. He took James from me, and now all that's left is this yawning void of loss and the ghost of his last words, haunting me like a curse.

I lift my head, wiping my face with trembling hands. My heart pounds with the weight of a decision forming in the pit of my soul. If Nicolas thinks he's won, he's wrong. This isn't over. It can't be. Because James may be gone, but I'm still here.

And I'll make damn sure Nicolas pays for every single second of this agony.

The soft chime of the elevator doors opening echoes through the penthouse, but I don't look up. I can't. I'm curled into myself on the couch, my knees pulled close, my gaze fixed on the cushion beneath my feet. It's the only thing grounding me right now.

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