Chapter 97 Tears And Tethers

• Rachel POV
• The air in my apartment was thick with the weight of betrayal, the empty safe beneath my desk a gaping wound that seemed to mock me, its steel walls gleaming in the dim light like a cruel reminder of Cody’s deceit. I stood in the living room, my hands clenched into fists, my chest heaving as the anger I’d been holding back erupted, a wildfire I couldn’t contain. Jeremy stood across from me, his face etched with concern, his hands raised as if to calm me, but all I could see was the chaos of the past days—Bonnie’s accident, Celine’s schemes, Cody’s theft, and now this, Jeremy’s calm acceptance of it all, as if it were just another hurdle, not a dagger in my heart.
• “This is all too much, Jeremy!” I shouted, my voice raw, echoing off the walls, startling Sir Biscuit Von Fluffington, who whimpered from his bed by the couch. “Cody used me, stole from me, and you’re just standing there like it’s nothing! My safe is empty, my trust is gone, and I’m supposed to just… what? Move on? How am I supposed to do that?” Tears burned my eyes, hot and relentless, but I refused to let them fall, my anger a shield against the pain clawing at me.