Page 223 of Once Upon a Fable

One that could never be broken, no matter if I went home or stayed, no matter if he lived or died. A chain made up of two hearts that had no business joining. A link that doomed us forever.

I started to cry.

Silent, slow tears.

He sucked in a breath as my fingers tightened around the knife.

My life flashed before my eyes.

The reunion with my brother. The coffee with my mother. The hugsfrom my friends. The fan mail from my YouTube followers.

All of it.

There, ready for me to take.

All I had to do waspush.

A savage push into a broken man’s heart, and I could be free of all of this.

More tears fell as I looked at the knife. My shoulder tightened, and my stomach coiled for power.

And suddenly...I was done.

All my anger.

My rage.

My fury.

It all just...vanished.

Tiredness swamped me; unhappiness churned my heart.

I cried harder, quiet and wretched.

He was right.

I didn’t have the strength. I had no more energy to hate. After a week of going over every swear word and threat I could imagine, I was too exhausted to even try.

My fingers opened beneath his.

He let me go.

The blade fell to the marble, bouncing high before clattering to a stop by our feet.

For an agonizing heartbeat, I cowered beneath my failures, my weaknesses, and the fact that I’d once again given up my freedom. And then, my tears were wiped away by rough thumbs, my cheeks cupped with shaking palms.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

I didn’t reply.

I let my tears fall because they were symbols of my past. This was a funeral, and my freedom was firmly locked in a coffin I would never open. I would mourn it. He would let me mourn it because once upon a time, he’d had his freedom stolen too.

He didn’t rush me. He didn’t touch me other than to wipe away my tears. And only once they dried up did he shift away and clear his throat. His eyes burned with ownership but also understanding. He was my master now, yet he knew what it was like to be me. To have all control stripped away and be at his mercy in all things.

I didn’t think he’d abuse that power.

Not now.