The Scorned Bride: His Cruel Vows

Chapter 16- Nothingness

WARNING: TRIGGERS; SUICIDE AND DEPRESSIVE THOUGHTS

Thalia's Pov

“You're pathetic.” Adrian said softly. His words carried no anger anymore, just rejection that cut deeper than any other person's word did.

He walked toward the doorway, his broad shoulders stiff but there was some droopiness to it. He was really sad.

Matthew followed him, but before he stepped out into the hallway, he paused and glanced over his shoulder at me. A cruel smirk played on his face.

“If you really want to atone so badly, Thalia,” Matthew said, his voice dripping with venom, “then do it then and there. Go on. Cut yourself right now. No one here is going to stop you. Stop acting like you want to atone for what you did. As long as Adrian is alive, you won't be able to do anything to yourself because you keep on hoping that he'll love you. But you'll never become the person you want to be, you'll forever be in Aria's shadow.”

They walked out, their footsteps fading down the long hallway. Dory slipped out right behind them. Just before she stepped through the door frame, she turned her head and threw a quick, victorious smile straight at me.

A smile that said she had won everything, and I had lost before the game even started. Then the door swung shut, and the room fell completely quiet.

I stood there all alone. The silence in the room felt heavy, wrapping around me like a cold blanket. I looked around the large, sunlit space that Aria had taken from me so many years ago. It didn't look bright anymore. Shadows seemed to stretch across the walls, pulling me down into a deep, endless darkness.

It was just me. Nobody was coming back. Nobody was ever going to hold my hand, or tell me that they believed me, or wipe away my tears. I looked down at the sharp glass shard held tightly in my bleeding hand. The clear glass was stained red with my own blood.

A sudden, sharp sting of guilt hit my heart, heavier than everything else. I rested my left hand gently over my lower stomach, my fingers pressing against the fabric of my dress.

“I’m sorry...” I murmured, my voice breaking into a fragile whisper as tears finally spilled over my lashes. “I’m so, so sorry... my baby. I'm sorry that mommy is so weak. I'm sorry that despite everything.. Despite everything, I still love him so much. It's hard to suddenly throw away the feelings I've had for the longest time. Adrian's right, I'm pathetic, aren't I? When I saw his tears, I thought to myself, why was I the one to make him cry? But he wasn't crying for me, he was crying for Aria. Matthew is also right as well, I will never be the person I want to be to Adrian. But… I still love him so much.” I sobbed, my voice not more than a whisper.

“But if your life in this world is going to be anything like mine... if you have to live in this kind of darkness... it’s better that you never have to see it.”

My lower lip trembled uncontrollably as I brought the glass up to my wrist. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and pressed the sharp edge deep into my skin.

Then, I dragged it across.

A sharp, violent wave of pain flared up my arm, making me gasp for air, but I didn't stop. The glass sliced clean through and blood instantly erupted from the cut, gushing out in wavy streams that poured down my forearm and dripped heavily onto the rug.

The pain was terrible, but within seconds, a strange, heavy numbness began to spread through my whole body. My knees felt like jelly. My strength vanished all at once, and I collapsed sideways onto the floor, my shoulder hitting the rug hard. The glass shard slipped from my fingers, rolling away into the puddle of my own blood.

I sat here, staring blankly at the ceiling. The bleeding didn't stop and I could quite literally feel the life draining out of me, second by second. My vision began to blur, the edges of the room turning dark.

I felt so weak. So cold. My eyelids grew so heavy that I couldn't hold them open anymore.

It’s finally over. I thought to myself, letting out one last, shaky exhale. I don't have to explain anymore. I don't have to be hurt anymore. I let my eyes slip shut, but just as my mind was about to fade away, the door slammed open.

Fast, frantic footsteps came rushing into the room. Through the tiny opening of my eyes, a blurry shadow dropped down onto its knees right beside me. Hands grabbed my shoulders, shaking me violently, but I couldn't feel the touch anymore.

The last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me whole was Adrian’s face, pale, terrified, and twisted in shock.