Chapter 37

Chloe’s POV

Love should not feel like a prison.

And if Drake could not learn that, then no amount of desire would save us.

Hilda came again in the afternoon.

This time, she did not smile when she saw me. She walked in fast, her bag still on her shoulder, her face tight with anger and exhaustion. The guards watched closely but allowed her through after checking with the house. I stood near the doorway, my heart already beating too fast.

“Chloe,” she said. “We need to talk.”

I nodded and led her inside. The moment the door closed, she dropped her bag on the floor and rubbed her face with both hands.

“He will not stop,” she said.

My stomach dropped. “Jack.”

“Yes,” she replied sharply. “Jack.”

She sat down hard on the couch. “He keeps coming to the house. He shouts. He knocks. He insults me. Yesterday he threw a bottle against the gate. The neighbors are starting to stare.”

Anger rushed through me so fast it made m