\u00a0<\/p>\n
8 Chapter 8\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pain on his face shifted into something else -shock-as he saw the pure, unadulterated loathing in my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cListen carefully,\u201d I said, my voice low and steady. \u201cWe are finished. I will never look for that ring. I will never try to be like Chloe. I will get married one day. But it will never, *ever* be to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I released him. He stumbled back, crouching by the railing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He called my name, not with anger now, but with a raw, panicked edge I\u2019d never heard before. \u201cLauren, wait! Please!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I kept walking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay! Okay, I was wrong! I messed up! We have history, five years! Doesn\u2019t that mean anything? Give me one chance to fix it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t stop. He scrambled to his feet and ran after me, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The\u00a0<\/p>\n
chaser had become the chased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
8 Chapter 8\u00a0<\/p>\n
He darted in front of me, blocking my path. He\u00a0<\/p>\n
was pale, sweating. \u201cWe talked about a house. With a porch swing. Kids. Growing old together. Did you just\u2026 throw all that away?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes were glistening. \u201cI know I focused too much on Chloe. But she\u2019s like a sister. It\u2019s you I want. It\u2019s always been you. We\u2019re supposed to get married. You promised\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed, the sound harsh in the quiet night. \u201cPromises are just words, Ethan. I can make them to anyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked like I\u2019d slapped him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, from down the pier, a scream. \u201cEthan! Help!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A loud splash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We both turned. Chloe was in the water, flailing dramatically in the two-foot-deep marina.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ethan looked from her to me, agony on his face. His lips trembled. \u201cI\u2026 I have to. It\u2019s the last time,\u00a0<\/p>\n
8 Chapter 8\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lauren. I swear. I can\u2019t just let her drown.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he ran. He actually tripped in his haste, then plunged into the shallow water to \u201crescue\u201d her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*Like a sister*. Right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A cab was finally approaching. I flagged it down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as I got in, a sopping wet Ethan, carrying a equally wet and clinging Chloe, appeared at the window. \u201cLauren, get out. Call another one. Chloe\u2019s in shock. She needs a hospital *now*\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at them. The \u201clife-threatening water\u00a0<\/p>\n
hadn\u2019t even reached his knees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave him a slow, cold smile. Then I kicked out, my foot connecting squarely with his chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fate Rolls Dark by Mark Twain 8 \u00a0 8 Chapter 8\u00a0 The pain on his face shifted into something else […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gave-up-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21977\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}