Shamed

I sent an innocent man to prison.

For ?????????? I relived the events of that horrific night. A night that changed the course of my future and left me with the jagged pieces of a shattered mind and a broken soul.
For ?????????? I thought justice had been served, that the monster had gotten what he deserved.
Then the truth came crashing down.
And I realized, I wasn’t the victim at all . . .
I was the monster.
With guilt burrowing deep, eating away at my marrow, I disappeared into a darkness of my own making, punishing myself for every minute I roamed free, all while an innocent man remained locked behind bars. I traded the sunlight for the neon glare of the stage, and turned my body into a living reminder of my sins.
And then suddenly, he shows up.
A man tied to the worst mistake I ever made. A man who somehow reaches into the pit I dug for myself. A man who refuses to let me stay broken, trying to glue my fragments back together with kindness that cuts deeper than any blade.

He looks at me like I’m still worth loving.
But if he learns the truth—if he realizes the kind of person he’s falling for—will he still want me or will loving me be the biggest mistake he’s ever made?
Because monsters don’t get a happy ending . . . do they?