I ran my fingers over the oil paintings hanging on the walls.
After I'd helped Dominic build his company from the ground up, he knew how much I loved painting. He'd spent a fortune sending me abroad to study.
He was clingy back then. He'd call me every day, and we'd talk for three hours straight.
I used to stare at his handsome profile on my phone screen and sketch him on paper.
The entire studio was filled with portraits of Dominic.
I traced the texture of the oil paint, and something inside me cracked. I wanted to tear every single one of them to shreds.
The door creaked open behind me. I buried my emotions.
"Josephine, didn't I tell you not to disturb me?"
A girl's coy laughter rang out from behind me.
Stephanie walked over and took my hand, pressing it against her slightly swollen belly.
Her words coiled around me like venom, each one sinking its fangs into my heart.
"You've already figured it out, haven't you, Joanna?"
"Dominic stopped loving you a long time ago. Honestly, why didn't you just die in that car accident?"
Something splashed against my ankles. The sharp, unmistakable smell of gasoline filled the air.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I grabbed Stephanie's hand in a panic.