Maybe it was just his imagination, but Joshua could swear this headache was worse than any he'd had before.

Even now, fully awake, the pain throbbed relentlessly.

He reached up, almost without thinking, and his fingers brushed against a bandage wrapped around his head.

In that instant, memories came flooding back-rushing in like a tidal wave.

Joshua's mind cleared, and it all returned to him.

That stubborn illness, passed down through the Gardner family like some ancient curse etched into their very bones.

When the episodes hit, he'd lose all sense of himself. Had no idea what he was doing.

But once the haze lifted, the memories always returned. Every single thing he'd done.

Some in his family, in those lost moments, had killed the people they cared about most.

And when the reality hit them-when the memories snapped back into place-it drove them past the brink. They'd lose their minds completely, never to return.

Others, fearing that madness, had ended their own lives before it could claim them.

It seemed every head of the Gardner family was doomed to this fate.

The brighter, sharper the mind, the more likely it was to break. There were no exceptions.

Instinctively, he


noticed the rain outside had

through the window, falling across the peaceful face beside him, bathing her in

propped at the bedside, elbow on the mattress, head cradled in her hand. Her eyes were closed, her head

but notice the dark circles under her

hadn't rested

the sleeping woman

passed before Stella's arm, locked in that position for so long, finally

catch her, but before he could, Stella's eyes fluttered open and she snapped

for a

130

up the lamp on the table a gentle voice asked

you

belongs to s


are

help but touch

twitching

so much as looked at her the wrong way

lamp would come crashing down

feeling better, Star... You can put the lamp down

Stella studied his expression.

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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