After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage By Cassila K

Chapter 28

When I got home from the hospital, I dug out a few dusty camera bags from the depths of the bookshelf.

They held remnants of a life I had deliberately buried.

The touch of the camera's casing felt unfamiliar, and the batteries had long since drained.

While waiting for the charger to finish, I inserted the memory card into my computer and opened those long-forgotten photos.

The first photo showed me treating a Black woman receiving cholera medication on the street.

The second was of a five-year-old child soldier, so small the rifle towered over him.

The third captured refugees in North Kivu province living under torn, tattered tents...

The smell of smoke and dust seemed to waft through the screen, piercing the present.

My heart clenched as if seized by sharp claws, the ache spreading through me.

Leaning back in my chair, I closed my eyes, trying to calm my racing pulse. A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

If Jackson saw these photos, would he still describe me as "obedient and docile"?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, my phone buzzed twice.

It was a message from Jackson: the restaurant's location.

That's when I remembered tonight was the gathering he'd arranged with his groomsmen and bridesmaids.

close friends, so these were

this wasn't

today, Sara

arrived at the restaurant, they'd already

seated at the head,

wasn't a seat

amused smile appeared on her lips. She gave me a once-over and

a chair and sit

and sat at the

all unfold with

thought you wouldn't

wedding! Even if I had to crawl, I'd be here to see what kind of woman

around the table, their

You and Jackson

revolved around

fishing for yellowfin tuna in the Mediterranean, trekking the Camino de

with rapt attention, their eyes gleaming with

do you even dare

briefly, her

the kind of woman who only thinks about cooking, husbands, and

burning bitterness numbing my tongue,

center of attention, the

on, everyone's focus stayed fixed on

quiet, had

tender, so soft it

sharing her recent experiences dealing with