Broken Strings

C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - O N E

"I love you, so fucking much. I mean it, Anisha. I really do."

"I'm working late tonight. Don't wait up for me tonight. Tell Ryan that I love him."

"Because I do Anisha. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you."

"Fuck off Anisha. Keep your fucking concern to yourself. We both know you don't care."

"I regret everything. Everything between us. This is all a mistake. Me and you Anisha. We should've never happened."

"Maybe we could try and work things out, for Ryan. He deserves a family. We could try to see if things work out for his sake. And for us. I promise I'll change. I promise."

"I've been cheating on you. For a while now."

"Fucking hell Anisha, my sister is dead. Cassie's dead. And it's all your fault."

"A little girl. I always wanted a little girl. And I hope she grows up to be just like you. You're perfect, Anisha. And I want our daughter to be just like you. I love you Anisha Hayes."

She started hitting his chest, repeatedly, as hard as she could. Anisha Hayes finally dulled. There was no saving her now.

"How dare you. How fucking dare you." She banged her fist against his hard chest. "How. Fucking." She was trying to hurt him, trying to make him understand how much he was always hurting her.

"Dare. You." Surely, she knew her small slaps against his chest wouldn't hurt. How couldn't he understand how much he was hurting her. Over and over again.

Her heart, it was already broken. Her heart, it couldn't take anymore.

And she wanted nothing more than for him to just tell her he had loved her. As pathetic as it was.

Anisha knew she didn't have a lot left. All she wanted was to hear him tell her that he really had loved her. She wanted to know, to feel, to understand that at some point he had. It would finally set her free.

Instead, he still accused her of being unfaithful.

The cries that escaped her lips were loud and filled with every bit of anger she felt. And the agony.

How dare he. After everything she had given him. After everything she had done for him. After everything she had gone through, just for him. For them.

For years, she had acted like the good wife. She had spent years trying to save a one-sided relationship. Because there was always this little bit of hope that maybe Andrew would change. He would finally see how much she had suffered, for him, because of him. And then, just maybe, she could be happy again. Anisha Hayes could finally be happy again.

But she never was.

And now, she was finally going to be free of the pain.

But she still wasn't happy. Everything was being taken away from her. She didn't want it to end. She wanted to get better. She wanted to fight. She wanted to get better. But she just didn't have it in her.

Anisha pulled her hand away from Andrew's grasp just as he reached out and tried to console her.

She had suffered enough.

She placed one hand over her mouth, trying to control her sobbing. But it didn't help. Her sobs just became louder and the tears stained her vision.

She slowly slid down, sitting on the dark wooden floor and cried. She cried. And cried.

That was all she had left.