𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚞𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚣𝚛𝚊 || 𝟷𝟾+

𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭 : 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟; 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥, 𝐞𝐭𝐜., 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐲.

❈❈❈

"Ezra, please, you have to believe me. I didn't do any of this to hurt you. I love you, baby, I promise."

Her voice trembled as she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me close, desperate to close the space between us. I could feel the heat of her body, the wild beat of her heart against mine, but it only made me feel colder. Every inch of me wanted to sink into her arms, to believe her, but I couldn't. Not anymore.

I couldn't be that naive, not after everything. Not after the lies.

I pulled away, gently but firmly, stepping back to create some distance between us. My breath was shaky as I turned my back to her. If I looked at her, I was afraid I might give in. I didn't know if I could handle it, didn't know if I could handle her. She had broken something inside me that I wasn't sure I could fix.

"Ezra, please, don't..." Her voice broke, but I had to do this. I had to say it, even if it ripped me open in the process.

"You lied to me, Soriah." My voice was steady, though my hands clenched into fists at my sides. "For what?" The question was a stab, but it was necessary. She needed to hear it. "I was fine. I was fine before you came into my life and turned it all upside down. You... you changed everything. You turned me into something I didn't recognize."