Chapter 75

Vera's POV

Guilt weighed heavily on my chest as I listened to Monica recount the painful chain of events that had forced her into decisions she never would’ve made otherwise. She didn’t run away to be cruel, she did it out of fear. Fear of death. Fear of leaving the people she loved broken.

As Hannah drove us out of the compound, I looked around and imagined what could’ve been Monica’s home, her place to rule. Jack had lost everything when he went into that coma, but he’d clawed his way back and restored it all for her. He even promised more. Yet, fate had its own twisted sense of humor.

They had flipped life like a coin, hoping for heads, but it came up tails. Their dreams shattered, and somehow, I became the piece that fit into the ruins.

At first, I didn’t believe Monica. I’d thought she was just a manipulator who came back for Jack’s attention. I almost told her to stop lying. But when I looked into her pale face, when I saw the sadness i