My hands shook. My jaw was clenched so tightly I could feel my molars grinding. I couldn’t believe I was hearing this.
And just when I thought she couldn’t cut deeper, she delivered the line she knew would paralyze me.
My hands trembled. My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might break. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
And then she hit me with the line she knew would shut me up.
“Don’t forget who gave you the life you have, Fran. Don’t you dare repay kindness with betrayal.”
The words lodged in my throat like a shard of glass. My vision blurred as tears poured down, silent and relentless.
If Mom and Dad were still here, they would’ve never let this happen. They wouldn’t have just stood there and watched me get humiliated like this.
No—I wasn’t going to crumble. I still have Soren. He said he liked me. He promised that he wanted to spend forever with me.
Soren would stand by me. He had to. He wasn’t the kind of man to fall for Aunt Hannah’s manipulation. I ran out of the house, my heart pounding as I tried to call him. But the line was busy. I tried again. And again. Nothing but that damn busy tone.
Two hours later, my phone finally rang.
“Soren Armitage,” the screen read.
I snatched it up, hopeful. “Hello?”
“Fran, I have something to tell you,” he said, voice flat. “I don’t think we’re a good match. Let’s break up.”
Just like that. A single sentence hit me like a gut punch. It echoed in my ears like thunder.
Yesterday, when we parted, he held me so tight, whispered that he couldn’t wait to marry me.
And now this?
“Why?” I choked out, biting my lip so hard I tasted blood.
There was a long pause.
Then—before Soren could say anything—I heard another voice.
“Do you really need someone to spell it out for you?”
It was Aunt Hannah. “Soren met your cousin and realized she’s a better fit,” she said, her voice smug and cruel. “She’s prettier, more talented. She can play the piano, dance. What do you have? You're a doctor crawling around in scrubs, covered in sweat and other people’s fluids. Soren’s just being kind not to mention the risk of catching something from someone like you.”
Every word was a slap to the face.
I had never been ashamed of my job. I saved lives. I worked hard. Soren wasn’t this shallow. He couldn’t be.
“Shut up!” I snapped, voice trembling. “I want to hear it from him.”