Building Her Throne Burying My Heart (Claire) novel Chapter 88

If Garrison acted like this, I could understand. But Claire? That was what really stung. For a second, a morbid thought crept in. If I just died right here, right now, would she feel even the slightest regret? Would she feel guilty, even a little? Or would she finally feel free?

When my arms finally gave out, I just let go. The necklace felt cold and heavy in my hand as I let out a stream of bubbles and watched them drift up toward the light. I stopped fighting, letting myself sink deeper, that awful burning in my chest getting worse. It hurt more than I ever imagined. Death wasn’t peaceful, it was terrifying and painful. Only after the pain would there be any kind of release.

If this was the ending Claire wanted, I guess she’d finally get it. My senses started to fade, everything went quiet, everything went dark. I used up my last breath, and the world just… ended. Me, Claire, everything between us, just gone. Maybe now, nobody would have to hurt anymore.

That would be nice…

…

Suddenly, I choked and coughed, water spewing from my mouth as someone pressed down hard on my stomach. The pain and shock yanked me back to life.

Air. Fresh, real air. I gasped, desperate for every inhale, clinging to the tiny spark of hope that maybe I wasn’t done yet. I kept coughing, my lungs burning as I fought to breathe again. Once I wasn’t choking anymore, I just lay there, dazed, trying to make sense of what happened.

There were people all around me, a whole circle, their mouths moving but their words sounded far away, muffled and meaningless. They looked panicked. Someone shook me, hard, but all I could think was that Claire wasn’t there. Garrison was gone too.

Where was I?

I blinked up at the sky, realized I was still by the pool, sprawled on the hard ground. So, even when I almost died, she wouldn’t even look at me. That thought hit me hard, cold and bitter, and I felt everything spin. The next thing I knew, I was slipping away again.

Garrison and Claire were still standing by the pool, talking about the ruined necklace like nothing else had happened. When Claire saw me awake, she glanced over, but I couldn’t read her expression before she looked away.

Garrison came over, looking apologetic. “I’m really sorry. I never thought you’d actually drown. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have…”

His words grated on my nerves. I looked up at him and cut him off. “If you really feel bad, Garrison, you can make it up to me. I need money. You’ve got plenty. How about you give me fifty thousand?”

Garrison went silent. His face turned cold in an instant.