It was obviously a false promise. Who was stupid enough to tell Ivy that it wouldn't hurt?
How could it not?
Pain had been the one constant in her life. It had never abandoned her, never changed its mind, never walked away when things became difficult.
People had come and gone. Promises had been made and broken. Faces she once trusted had turned unfamiliar, and places that were supposed to feel like home had become sources of wounds she could never quite escape.
But pain had always remained.
It had followed her through every stage of her life, quietly waiting whenever everything else fell apart. It had been there when she was alone, when she was frightened, and when she had no one left to turn to. It never demanded anything from her except that she endure it.
In a twisted way, it wa
