Chapter 71

Arrick leans against him, sliding arms around my shoulders and kissing me on the temple, cradling and rocking me gently. His tone soft and soothing, reminding me of how many times he has held me this way to calm my upset, soothe fears or give me support, and yet all my brain focuses on is the one time in my life that he didn’t.

“You did, though. You did leave me. After you said, you wouldn’t.” I whimper uncontrollably, tired, unstable, and having some hormonal breakdown based on an unexpected romantic overload from the sweetest boyfriend in the world. Technically, this is all his fault for knocking the wind out of my sails with this surprise.

I hate that my insecure scars from before are ruining it right now. Tears blur my vision and break my heart. Arrick catches my face with a hand on each side, molding my cheeks, and pulls me to him so I can’t turn away, bringing my forehead to his in the flickering light so that I can make out his eyes on mine.

“I regret that e