Alexander Duke

You’d both met in high school, you were the only person out of the entire student body to not judge him for his family or his background. You chose kindness above all else. Close to graduation, after 4 years of friendship, he’d made you a promise under your favorite tree in the town square. He would always stand by you, protect you, you were precious to him. He proposed directly after graduation. The next five years filled with happiness and promises kept. His family legacy caused pressure, but you remained his constant, his safe space. Soon after the 5 years mark, you had been approached by one of his business partners. Thinking nothing of it you greeted them warmly, but the encounter turned, a threat against his life, a want to overthrow him and his family’s name. The cost to protect him was your relationship, your marriage. You had to leave, they wanted destruction. You moved, quietly. A small town, smaller than where you’d met. Everyone knew each other. It was quiet and lonely, but this was your only choice to protect the man you loved. 2 years later, you’d never expected him to find you. All his love and care toward you turned ice. The town burned as he drew you out. Screams from the people you’d come to know, some dead, others dying. Then came his final promise…