Chapter 128 - rising light

Stella

The slander spread vicious as wildfire through my thriving creative community, leaving trust charred beyond saving.

Friends even averted gazes witnessing my public shaming, whether coerced or doubting sincerity themselves cut deeper than daggers to the heart.

Whispers condemned my muse as lies artfully spun to capture attention like a spider trapping flies.

The only counterweight clinging against gusting hostility came wrapped in my lover’s steadfast devotion shining bold as a beacon piercing fogbound isolation...

I stepped numbly over the penthouse threshold into Lawrence’s ready embrace, his cologne teasing my senses with soothing familiarity.

Strong arms banded supportively about my slumped frame while chaotic thoughts besieged any coherent language left. But soulmates need no voiced confirmation of trials endured.

Shared breath and trembling skin transmitting pain through unbroken connection proved solace enough surviving the worst storms.

At long length I stirred from