Building Her Throne Burying My Heart (Claire) novel Chapter 5

Garrison didn’t let the silence settle. “You’ll wish us happiness, right?”

He moved closer, slipping his arm around Claire’s waist. She didn’t pull away, just leaned into him without a word.

My fists clenched tight, nails digging into my palms. I looked at them—Claire, the woman I would have died for, and Garrison, the man who would probably be happy if I did. And there I was, stuck, unable to change a thing.

Everyone in the room was waiting. Would I give them my blessing? Or would I let them see how much this was tearing me apart?

Claire met my eyes from Garrison’s side. There was something in her look—maybe hope, maybe she was waiting for a sign from me. I couldn’t give her one. I turned away, my voice icy.

“This has nothing to do with me.”

I left without looking back, not caring what anyone thought. I had nothing left, not even a whole body. There was nothing about me that could ever be enough for her. She deserved so much more.

Outside, I staggered over to a trash can and threw up until there was nothing left in me. The sharp taste of alcohol stung my throat and made my eyes water. My legs felt like jelly. Pain twisted through my stomach, sharp and relentless.

As soon as I finished, a security guard came over, annoyed. “Hey, what’s your problem? Your scooter’s been here forever. Move it!”

I wiped my mouth and stood. “Sorry. I’ll go now.”

Blood was sticky on my palm. I gritted my teeth, picking out tiny bits of glass from the wound, one by one. I wrapped my hand in my glove and headed home. The night was cold, the city wind cutting through the fog in my head. I never thought I’d see her again, not after all these years, not like this.

It only happened because my foster mom, Darleen, got sick a few months ago and wanted to come back to this city. If not for that, Claire and I probably never would have crossed paths again.

I picked up something for Darleen on my way home. When I got to our little apartment, she was still awake.

“Mom, why aren’t you asleep? I brought you something to eat. Try a little, okay?”

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