Building Her Throne Burying My Heart (Claire) novel Chapter 88

If Garrison acted like this, I could understand. But Claire? That was what really stung. For a second, a morbid thought crept in. If I just died right here, right now, would she feel even the slightest regret? Would she feel guilty, even a little? Or would she finally feel free?

When my arms finally gave out, I just let go. The necklace felt cold and heavy in my hand as I let out a stream of bubbles and watched them drift up toward the light. I stopped fighting, letting myself sink deeper, that awful burning in my chest getting worse. It hurt more than I ever imagined. Death wasn’t peaceful, it was terrifying and painful. Only after the pain would there be any kind of release.

If this was the ending Claire wanted, I guess she’d finally get it. My senses started to fade, everything went quiet, everything went dark. I used up my last breath, and the world just… ended. Me, Claire, everything between us, just gone. Maybe now, nobody would have to hurt anymore.

That would be nice…

…

Suddenly, I choked and coughed, water spewing from my mouth as someone pressed down hard on my stomach. The pain and shock yanked me back to life.

Air. Fresh, real air. I gasped, desperate for every inhale, clinging to the tiny spark of hope that maybe I wasn’t done yet. I kept coughing, my lungs burning as I fought to breathe again. Once I wasn’t choking anymore, I just lay there, dazed, trying to make sense of what happened.

There were people all around me, a whole circle, their mouths moving but their words sounded far away, muffled and meaningless. They looked panicked. Someone shook me, hard, but all I could think was that Claire wasn’t there. Garrison was gone too.

Where was I?

I blinked up at the sky, realized I was still by the pool, sprawled on the hard ground. So, even when I almost died, she wouldn’t even look at me. That thought hit me hard, cold and bitter, and I felt everything spin. The next thing I knew, I was slipping away again.

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