Chapter 138

But I'd been so busy myself that I didn't pay as close attention to her as I should have. But was this really my fault? It was her choice. Guys like Johnny Burris were her weakness. If she hadn't been overwhelmed with work, it would have happened anyway. It was the honesty aspect that grated at me the most. She could have sent a simple text message, and I probably would have told her to have fun. If she was hiding one secret from me, what others were buried elsewhere?

I watched her chest rise and fall while she slept. And in those moments, I knew that I loved her and that I couldn't let her go. But at what cost? Before I left, slipping out of the apartment quietly, I wrote Jess a note and put it underneath her phone. I'd know soon enough if she read it.

I went to the office for the last time. I had packed most of my things the day before. I put in a half day, shaking hands and accumulating well-wishes, before heading off to a wine-soaked lunch. T