The Wishes We Keep

I'd been at Cayden's side since I was eighteen. He'd plucked me from a pile of corpses, once declaring me his sharpest, most reliable blade. I'd done his dirty work, even serving time in prison for him.

"Aubrey," he'd promised, "when you get out, we'll marry."

But on the day of my release, he was nowhere to be found. I later learned he'd married the daughter of a wealthy family—someone of his own standing. Cayden insisted it was just for show, that I was the one he truly loved. But I knew he was lying.