Requiem of a Broken Heart

Chapter 324:

She left Kate sprawled on the floor, bruised and humiliated, her once-pristine clothes in tatters.

Leaning down, Rachel’s voice was like ice. “Listen to me, Kate Marsh. If you ever lay a finger on Jeffrey again—if anything happens to him—I swear I’ll drag you down with me. And don’t even think about tattling to your mom or my dad. If they find out about today, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Kate, stubborn as ever, clenched her jaw.

Rachel wasn’t worried. She crouched lower, her gaze drilling into Kate’s. “I know what you’re thinking. You’ll run to your mommy, cry to her, and have her punish us.”

Rachel tilted her head, smiling darkly. “But here’s the thing, Kate—I don’t care about life or death. I have nothing to lose. You, on the other hand? You’re a pampered little princess with everything laid out for you. You have a future.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Are you really ready to throw that away?”

For the first time, Kate looked scared. Real fear seeped into her wide eyes as she nodded frantically. “I won’t! I swear, I won’t do it again. I don’t want to die!”

Rachel gave her one last cold look. “You’d better mean it. Because if I go down, I’m taking someone with me.”

let out a slow, trembling breath. And then, as if all the strength had been sucked out of her, she collapsed onto the

strike fear. Back then, she had thought

had once shattered Jeffrey’s heart, and even now, they

and brought her

“promise me you’ll never do

“As long as you remain by my side, I’ll go nowhere. I’ll stay with you forever. When you and Brian marry and have children, I’ll play with them endlessly. I’ll

no v

description of this imagined future, countless words Rachel yearned to express became lodged in

it you

still couldn’t bring herself to voice the

that one day, I will also grow old, pass away, and leave you?” Finally, she

passed before he could respond. “No, that won’t happen. You won’t die. Rachel…”