Chapter 3The Shorn Sacrifice

“You think I need your pathetic rent money?”

Liam grabbed my arm, his grip like iron, his face a thundercloud. “Ava, have you had enough of this drama? Do you seriously think you can support yourself alone?”

He shook his head in disgust. “I swear, I don’t know what goes on in that head of yours! I buy you skincare, you don’t use it. I buy you jewelry, you don’t wear it. I ask you to dress better, and you come up with a million excuses!”

Every time we fought, it was the same old story. He’d bring up the skincare, forgetting it made my skin break out in hives. He’d complain about the jewelry, ignoring the time his friends mocked me, claiming it was a cheap knockoff. He’d criticize my ‘drab’ clothes, completely disregarding that my government job had a conservative dress code.

When I didn’t respond, his words grew even more reckless. “What, nothing to say? Or are you planning to run back to your dead-end hometown and get married off?!”

That last sentence struck me like a physical blow. I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief. After my high school graduation, my family had tried to lock me up and marry me off for cash. It was Liam who had saved me, who had pulled me from that hell. He had promised that as long as he was around, no one would ever hurt me again.

He seemed to have forgotten that promise. He had become just as cruel and ugly as the people he’d once saved me from.

My family background was a mess. I was frugal by nature. But what was so wrong with that?

Tears welled in my eyes, and my heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. I didn’t say a word. I finally, completely understood. Liam Foster was a lost cause. He would die before ever admitting he was wrong.

I grabbed my suitcase, determined to leave.

Liam exploded. He seized the suitcase and hurled it to the ground with all his might. The latches burst, and the case split open, spilling my neatly folded clothes onto the floor.

“Liam, we’re broken up! Who gave you the right to touch my things?”

He yanked me back by the arm. His strength was immense, and my head slammed into the sharp corner of a table. A sudden, hot stream of liquid flooded my vision.

I blinked frantically, but all I could see was a blur.

Liam panicked, rushing towards me. “Ava, don’t be scared, I’m taking you to the hospital right now.”

Just then, his phone rang. Dolores’s weak, faint voice crackled through the speaker.

“Liam… I’m outside your building… I’m coughing up blood. What do I do? It hurts so much.”

The color drained from Liam’s face. He let go of my arm.

“Ava, just wait for me. Dolores’s having an attack. I have to get her to the hospital first!”

Blood was pouring into my eyes. All I could see was a hazy silhouette in front of me. I grabbed onto his leg, trying to stop him.

“Liam, I can’t see. Please, just call an ambulance for me…”

Without a second thought, he kicked me away.

“I told you to fucking wait! Are you deaf?!” he screamed. “Can’t you wait for one damn minute? Are you in such a hurry to die?!”

The force of the kick knocked the wind out of me, and I couldn’t get up.

Liam was already gone.

The front door slammed shut with a final, resounding bang.