"To know the truth of our story."

Everything in life has a price. Nothing is ever freely gifted. The universe always comes, whether in the brightest, cheek-aching second of the day or the darkest, most plaintive hour of the night, to collect its payment. To rattle and shake your world. To slither into the illusion of Eden painted by strokes of lies and deceit.

And I had left the door open for it, welcoming the thief into my house to steal what was dearest to me.

Even if I had done every unthinkable, irrational, detestable thing to prevent it.

To fight the inevitable loss of the base mistake I had made. The princess that was never supposed to be mine. The deception that had slowly bled darkness into my soul. Eating away at the back of my mind in a cackling mockery. Throttling my throat with the words I had chosen not to speak. Because the love I had found, the one I had never expected, never foreseen, was a tale I had woven full of lies to keep.

There was always a price. For everyone, in everything. Innocent and guilty alike. And now I'd learned mine. But what would theirs be?

Contains mature themes.