Page 125 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

Unknown Number: You think you’re better than me now?

Buzz.

Unknown Number: After everything I did for you?

That one hits deeper than the others.

Because that’s his favorite narrative.

That I owe him, that I wouldn’t have survived without him. That leaving him was betrayal instead of escape.

I start walking again, faster now, heading toward the river path. The gravel crunches louder under my feet. The sky is fading into blue-gray.

Buzz.

Unknown Number: You don’t get to disappear like this.

My breathing goes shallow.

He doesn’t know where I am. He can’t.

But the tone—possessive, angry, unraveling—makes my skin prickle anyway.

Buzz.

Unknown Number: Call me before I get mad.

The threat is vague.

That’s what makes it worse.

My eyes sting unexpectedly.

I hate that a few words on a screen can drag me back into that feeling of being cornered. Of being small.

A couple walks past me holding hands. They smile politely.

I nod as if I’m fine.

Buzz.

Unknown Number: You’ll regret this.

My vision blurs.

I sit down on a bench overlooking the river because my knees feel weak.

The water moves steadily below, catching the last of the light. It doesn’t care about my drama. It just keeps going.

I open the message thread fully.

There are more, messier now. More desperate.

You can’t just throw us away.

You were nothing before me.

Don’t make me do something I’ll regret.