"That's not what I mean, Jared. Let's calm down, okay? I'm sorry—once Gideon calms down, we'll talk properly—"
I cut her off. "There's nothing to talk about. You don't owe me an apology either."
I closed my eyes; the cut at my temple throbbed. "Between us, it was already over when you went to the bar with him in your wedding dress."
Eliana's brow knitted tightly; her voice pitched higher. "I said that to settle him down! Can't you understand? I'm stuck in the middle here!"
My gaze was steady and empty. "Don't trouble yourself. Leave, Eliana. Go take care of the brother who can't do without you. He's more important than me."
She opened her mouth as if to protest, but only pressed her lips together and left the ward.
She didn't come back for the next few days.
After I was discharged, I went alone to the cemetery to say goodbye to my mother and leave the city.
When I arrived, the sight made my blood rush to my head and my limbs went cold.
Gideon.
He was there with a shovel—where he'd gotten it, I had no idea, but he was frantically digging at my mother's grave. Soil lay overturned everywhere; the headstone had been knocked askew.
"Stop!" My mind went blank. I lunged forward without thinking.