I can’t keep that vow.

What is it they say?

There’s a fine line between love and hate.

There is.

**MARCUS**

I launch my fist into the countertop over and over, my entire body breaking into pieces as I watch her go. Blood trickles from my knuckles but it’s nothing compared to the pain in my heart. It’s a foreign emotion, something I’ve never felt, but it tears through me, ripping my soul to shreds. My heart feels like it’s going to explode and the overwhelming need to claw at my own chest just to stop it, is driving me over the edge.

This isn’t how it was supposed to go.

I was never supposed to care.

The words I spat at her repeat over and over in my head as I fight the urge to drop to my knees and bellow in agony. She’ll never know what I just sacrificed. She’ll never know what I just gave her. She’ll never know that I just set her free.

“What the fuck have you done?”

Lifting my head, I see Mack standing in the doorway. I don’t know why he’s here. I don’t really care. He looks angry. I guess he would be. He knows everything. He knows about Katia. He knows why she’s with me. He knows what I’ll lose.

“I just heard what you said, what is wrong with you? Do you not see what you’ve just done? What the fuck could possibly possess you to give up everything you’ve worked for?”

“I gave her life back, her freedom...” I mutter, staring blankly. Emptiness rises higher and higher in my pathetic heart.

“I’m all for being the good guy, bud. Fuck, I like Katia...but you made a choice to save your business. You took action. You didn’t do that shit lightly. You fight for that. You fix it. You make it better. Sending her away without a fight means you’ll lose everything.”

I laugh, low and bitter. “You don’t fucking see it, do you, Mack? Even I can see it so clearly now.”

“See what?”

I turn and stare at the empty space, the space where my wife was standing only five minutes ago as I ripped her world apart.

“She was everything.”

THE END – PART 1

Part two will be released in a little over 4 weeks so I promise the wait won’t be long!

And now a sneak peak from a good friend of mines newest book.

Death’s Shadow by TJ Hamilton.

Make sure you check it out. It’s an amazing read.

THE moment I left Australia, I knew my life would change forever. But I never thought I would lose my soul to my new country, Russia. All I’ve heard since arriving into this place is the constant sound of a drip, echoing in the distance. Everything around me is black and wet . . .

Until he comes. He takes me to another room. He licks all the parts of my body that he likes, and hurts the parts he doesn’t. I only see the whites of his eyes. I don’t look into his irises. I can’t bear to see the evil within him. Even when he commands that I look at him, I look through him instead.

They told me I’d be part of a Russian ballet company, but the company I keep here is far from the joy I ever felt from dancing. The four walls that surround me are as decayed as my rotting soul and the ground below me is cold and harsh against my skin. My eyes focus on the glimmer of light that seeps in from under the door, but it doesn’t illuminate the space enough to focus on anything within the room. I stare into the darkness around me again and pick the sound I can hear nearby. It’s quiet, and quick. I know it’s a roach. I slam my hand down next to me and feel the little creature wriggle underneath my palm. I cup my hand there and feel it tickle against me as it desperately scrambles to get away. We’re all trying to get away from something in this place.

I never thought my life would end up with me living in a black, damp hole, but here I am. I never thought I’d eat roaches either, but as I desperately push the squirming insect into my mouth, I know things are different now. This is no longer life—this is survival.