I walked slowly down the altar steps, the cool marble soothing against my bare feet.

I stood mere inches from the man who’d turned my life into a living nightmare. I looked into his eyes and searched my soul for a flicker of pity, a shred of lingering sorrow.

I found absolutely nothing.

Just the sweet, crisp air filling my lungs for the first time in a year.

“I loved the mask you wore, Adrian,” I whispered, leaning in so only he could hear me.

“I did not love the monster beneath it. And monsters don’t get to live in the light.”