Better Tides Than Love Turned Hate

I fell in love with a man I should never have touched—my brother-in-law, Lucas Zahn.

The first time he came to our home with my sister, Quincy, they looked like the perfect couple. He smiled at me, held out a peace talisman bracelet, and said it would keep me safe. I wore it like it was the most precious thing in the world.

When the old injury in my ankle flared up, he would scoop me into his arms and rush me to the hospital without a second thought.

When thugs tried to harass me, he made them scatter with a single look, then spoke to me in a voice so gentle it made my heart tremble.

I told myself I understood—that everything he did was only because I was Quincy’s younger sister.

Even so, I clung to those rare moments when I could be near him.

Until the night Lucas was drugged by an enemy, his life teetering on the edge. If no one acted, he would die.

So, I acted.

On that reckless, desperate night, my sister walked in. The sight struck her like a lightning bolt, and she collapsed, her weak heart seizing on the spot.

What came next was madness. In a frenzy of rage and panic, Lucas tied me to an operating table. His hands—those hands I once longed to hold—cut open my chest and tore my heart out for her.

“When the avalanche hit, Quincy nearly died saving me. I swore I’d treat her well for the rest of my life. That means loving her family, too. I never thought you’d be so shameless.

“This is what you owe her!”

He never knew that I was the one who saved him in that avalanche.

So, I died in agony, my love carved out of me—literally.

When my eyes opened again, I found myself back on the night he was drunk.

I fell in love with a man I should never have touched—my brother-in-law, Lucas Zahn.

The first time he came to our home with my sister, Quincy Stone, they looked like the perfect couple. He smiled at me, held out a peace talisman bracelet, and said it would keep me safe.

I wore it like it was the most precious thing in the world.

When the old injury in my ankle flared up, he would scoop me into his arms and rush me to the hospital without a second thought.

When thugs tried to harass me, he made them scatter with a single look, then spoke to me in a voice so gentle it made my heart tremble.

I told myself I understood—that everything he did was only because I was Quincy’s younger sister.

Even so, I clung to those rare moments when I could be near him.

Until the night Lucas was drugged by an enemy, his life teetering on the edge. If no one acted, he would die.

So, I acted.

On that reckless, desperate night, my sister walked in. The sight