NOAH
I didn’t know what had come over me or why I had swallowed the pearl necklace.
Maybe it was the fever clouding my judgment, or maybe it was the desperation that had been building inside me for far too long. I knew it was the latter.
I forced it down as I watched the shock spread across Olivia’s face, her expression changing instantly as she rushed toward me.
“Noah!”
The pain hit immediately.
It tore through my throat, sharp and unrelenting, forcing a harsh cough out of me as my body gave out and I collapsed onto the carpet. A metallic taste filled my mouth, thick and unmistakable, and I instinctively brought both hands to my throat as I struggled to breathe.
“Noah!”
Her voice came again, closer this time, edged with panic.
Through my blurred vision, I saw
