Chapter 9 - The Pale Line
That evening, I walked through Central Park as the sun began to dip below the Manhattan skyline, painting the clouds in brilliant shades of gold and violet.
I sat on a wooden bench near the reservoir, watching the water ripple gently under the spring breeze.
I lifted my left hand.
The pale line that Adrian’s ring had left on my ring finger for five years had finally faded completely away under the sun. My skin was clear, unburdened, and whole.
I pulled the ring from my coat pocket.
It lay in my palm, glittering softly in the twilight. It was no longer a symbol of a fake marriage, nor a weapon used by Evelyn Blackwood to humiliate me, nor a trophy to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
It was simply a key that had served its purpose.
I stood up, walked to the edge of the stone wall overlooking the deep water of the reservoir, and held the ring in my fingers.
For a moment, I thought about keeping it in a safe, or placing it in a museum display for the Vale Trust. But my mother hadn't wanted me to hold onto the past. She had wanted me to build my own life.
May you like
I pulled my arm back and threw the ring far out into the center of the water.
It caught the last beam of setting sunlight, sparkling like a tiny star, before dipping beneath the dark surface and disappearing into the depths forever.
