CHAPTER FIFTY TWO – RISING BACK UP AGAIN FROM ASHES

Karina opened the door to her apartment. She felt empty inside, like a shell of her former self. Just this morning, she was a hopeful woman. Now her world was shattered by her own bad actions. She dropped her coat and purse on the floor without caring. Karina drifted through the silent apartment like a ghost. The cozy decorations she once loved now felt oppressive and unfamiliar. Every photo or trinket mocked the life she had recklessly destroyed. Her gaze fell on a framed picture from her Cancun trip with Eric last year. Their tanned, smiling faces frozen in blissful intimacy. Back when their love felt pure, before betrayal tainted it. Anger and self-loathing flooded Karina. She grabbed the frame and threw it hard against the wall, shattering glass exploding everywhere. Chest heaving, she gripped the counter for support as a sob tore from her throat. How could she have been so foolish and selfish, fracturing the most precious thing in her life? Eric's cruel parting words replayed