Chapter 4: The Gates Close
At 11:58 PM, Adrian stood outside the same gates where he had thrown me out.
Except now, they were locked.
And he was on the wrong side.
Rain poured harder, as if the night itself had chosen sides.
Vanessa clutched his arm, her voice shaking. “Do something!”
He pounded on the iron gates. “Claire! Open this! We can talk!”
A car approached slowly.
The window lowered.
I looked at him through the glass—calm, dry, untouchable.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he dropped to his knees.
“Claire… please. I made a mistake.”
The same words. The same place.
Different power.
I tilted my head slightly. “You said I was nothing without you.”
“I was wrong!”
“Yes,” I said softly. “You were.”
Vanessa stepped forward, desperate. “Claire, I didn’t know—”
“You knew,” I interrupted calmly. “You just didn’t care.”
Silence fell.
Then I gave a small nod.
May you like
The gates remained closed.
And the car drove away.
