Chapter 23

I shake my head at him involuntarily, almost as though answering, even when I try to tell him to leave me alone.

“Why are you doing this?” I plead brokenly, willing him to stop torturing me and release me so I can go back home.

“Because I need to know, I need to hear you say you don’t love me anymore, in any way. I can’t risk missing even the tiniest hint of hope that I can get you back.” His moisture-filled, almost green eyes penetrate mine with so much fear that it almost kills me.

“You’re an asshole. You don’t deserve my love.” These are the only things I can say as the gulf of tears open up again, and I end up sobbing in front of him, crumbling inside at where we are and how we got here. So much pain I have been bottling up for months that I refused to let out for fear it would never stop, and it chooses now to come tumbling out. I close my eyes and cover my face with my palms. He comes around me and pulls me into an embrace, his arms tightening around my waist