The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 80

He clenched his jaw, tears choking his words. “But Hassan is dead. There was no way I could make that much money so fast, and Melissa… she didn’t want to drag me down with her… she slit her wrists and killed herself.”

A wave of dread washed over Petty. She reached for the lighter on the ground, wrapping her fingers tightly around it.

“I exposed that club because Hassan was ruining the lives of so many underage kids. I did it to protect others. His death was his own fault, not mine.”

“Not yours?” The man’s face, once almost handsome, twisted with grief and rage. “If you hadn’t exposed that club, it never would have shut down. I wouldn’t have lost my only way to make money. You say you wanted to save people, but all I know is Hassan gave me a chance. He gave me hope, he gave me money. He could have saved Melissa. But you burned that bridge. You took away her only hope.”

Petty frowned, her mind racing. She could tell now that the man was lost in his grief for Melissa, stuck in a place he couldn’t get out of.

“I didn’t know Melissa, but from her photos, I can tell she was a kind person.” Petty’s voice softened, her words slower and more careful. “Do you think she would have wanted you to do those things for Hassan?”

The man gripped his hair, laughing and crying in turns, his thoughts a tangled mess. “Melissa was the kindest girl I ever knew. We grew up together in the orphanage. I’ve loved her since we were kids. I worked so she could go to school. She was so smart, she could pick up anything. But fate… it gave her that disease. She loved cake, you know… cake.”

He staggered toward the gravestone and knelt by the pastel blue cake.

“She always wanted to light candles before eating cake, even if it wasn’t her birthday. Candles… where’s my lighter?”

Suddenly, he dropped to the ground, searching frantically. His eyes landed on Petty. He lunged and yanked her hand open, finding the lighter. His gaze fell to the rope on her wrist, noticing the burned fibers where she’d tried to use the lighter.

“Bitch!” He slapped her hard across the face.

Petty crashed to the ground. Half her face went numb. Her ears rang, her vision swam.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard movement getting closer, but pain kept her pinned to the ground.

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