Inside, she heard the muffled sound of Marcus calling her name, his voice thick with confusion. Elena didn't turn back. She watched the fire until it was nothing but black sludge in the mud. She let the rain wash the soot from her hands, stepped into her car, and drove toward the horizon, leaving the burning remains of his lies in her rearview mirror.
She dropped the match onto the gasoline-soaked pile of his belongings she’d dragged out earlier. Whoosh. Adele - Set Fire to the Rain
She had found the letters tucked inside a hollowed-out book—cold, hard proof that his "late nights at the office" were spent in another woman’s arms. The betrayal wasn't a sharp cut; it was a slow burn, a realization that every "I love you" was a calculated move in a game she didn't know they were playing. Inside, she heard the muffled sound of Marcus
She looked at Marcus, asleep on the velvet sofa. In the soft glow of the embers, he looked like the man she had first met—the one whose words felt like a warm blanket on a cold night. He had a way of holding her that made the rest of the world disappear. He’d look into her eyes and say exactly what she needed to hear, weaving a safety net out of beautiful, empty promises. But tonight, the net had snapped. She let the rain wash the soot from
She was finally cold, but for the first time in years, she wasn't shivering.