CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY SEVEN: BIGGEST PLAGUE

But now, all of those memories felt tainted, soured by the knowledge of Hazel’s deceit and his uncle’s betrayal. Mark couldn’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming loss, a deep ache in his chest that threatened to consume him from within. With each step he took, Mark felt himself drawing further and further away from the life he had once known, the life he had built with Tiana before it all came crashing down. He knew that things could never be the same again, that the wounds inflicted by Hazel’s betrayal and his uncle’s treachery ran too deep to ever fully heal. But even as the darkness threatened to engulf him, Mark refused to succumb to despair. He knew that he had to find a way to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, to forge a new path forward in the wake of this devastating revelation. As he walked, Mark found himself drawn back to his own home, the place where he had built a life for himself in the aftermath of his divorce from Tiana. It was a modest yet luxurious