Chapter 5
I made a special trip to see Burke at the prison.
“Come to gloat? Get out.” His eyes burned with hate.
I barely recognized him. In just days, he’d gone from king of the world to just another inmate.
“Here. It’s yours.” I handed him a raggedy teddy bear, patched up so many times it was more stitches than fur.
He sneered, “What’s this? Another sick game you cooked up with Lucien?”
I sighed. “You really don’t remember.”
Burke studied the bear, his face cycling through confusion, shock, and recognition.
“You’re… that little girl? The one who saved me?”
Twenty years ago, when Burke was six, his mom was still alive. They’d gone to the countryside that summer to escape the heat.
The little boy had fallen into the river while fishing. I’d seen it happen, screamed for help, brought the adults running.
Back then, with my parents grinding away in the city, I was stuck at grandma’s place dying of boredom. Burke became my
Chapter 5
only friend.
2/4
We’d play house – he was the daddy, I was the mommy. And this handsome little boy had given me his favorite teddy bear, all serious–faced.
“TV says if someone saves your life, you gotta marry them.”
“Sara, I’ll marry you when we grow up.”
Years later, we met again as step–siblings. He didn’t recognize me. Instead, he hated my guts.
“It was you? How was that possible…” Burke squeezed his eyes shut, mouth twitching like he was fighting back pain.
When he opened them, they were rimmed red. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Guilt, maybe. Figured if hating me made you feel better, I could live with that.”
My smile stayed calm while his face twisted with regret.
“I meant it when I said I loved you, Burke.”
He froze.
That first night, when he’d taken me, I’d cried through the pain, confessing my feelings.
He’d been too drunk on revenge to care.
Chapter 5
Now his chest felt like it was being crushed.
“Want to know why I married Lucien?”
“Not for the money. For protection.”
My voice went soft. “I was scared of you. You and your girlfriend.”
3/4
“Sara, I’m so sorry…” His eyes were wel. “I was such an arrogant bastard.”
With Lucien’s power, marriage wasn’t exactly optional.
I reached up to wipe his tears. My sleeve slipped, showing the scars criss–crossing my arm.
He grabbed my wrist. “What the hell is this?”
“Nothing.” I yanked my arm back.
“Everyone says I married up. Truth is, I just traded one hell for another.”
“That bastard,” Burke snarled.
Finally, I got to why I’d come.
“You’ve been fighting Lucien. I know you’ve got dirt on him.”
“You want to take him down? Impossible. The Congreves are
Chapter 5 untouchable…”
I met his eyes. “Let me handle it. I’ve got a plan.”
Burke sighed and whispered the evidence in my ear.
As I turned to leave, he called out.
“Sara, I owe you everything.”
I kept walking without looking back.
It didn’t matter anymore.
After all, who argues with a man facing life in prison?
I smiled for real this time.
Write your comment
