Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Violet.
The name echoes in my head, loud and sharp. The woman he’s loved all these years is standing right in front of him. Right here, in this place. Suddenly, everything I thought we were building shatters. Even though this hurts like hell, I’m happy for him. I really try to hold on to that thought, but my heart is cracking wide open anyway, splitting down the middle with a pain so sharp it feels physical. My chest aches, tight and burning, like something inside me is collapsing in on itself.
Maybe I should see a doctor. I’m already in the right place for that, aren’t I?
I don’t wait around to hear the rest of their conversation. I slip away from the small room like a coward, my feet carrying me down the hall before my mind can catch up. I move fast, too fast, desperate for somewhere to disappear. Somewhere I can breathe. Somewhere I can let the tears fall without being seen, without having to explain why I’m breaking apart in a place full of strangers.
I need somewhere I can fall apart quietly.
Because this hurts. God, it hurts so much.
I knew it would. I knew it the moment I let myself fall for him. Knew the moment that I let myself believe that this was real, that it could become something. That we could become something. That I was taking a risk. It was a risk my heart couldn’t afford after years of rejection, but I took it anyway, because even with the pain, I’ll never regret a single second spent in his arms.
I’ve never been the girl who gets the happily ever after. I’ve always known that fairy-tale endings don’t stick to someone like me. I just didn’t think it would unravel this fast. Hoped that it wouldn’t is more like it. I pushed the fear to the back of my mind and just immersed myself in him, and how he made me feel seen, cherished… loved.
I hope that it works out for them. It hurts to even think that way, but in my heart, I just want Foster to be happy. I want his dreams to come true, even though he became mine, and that’s no longer a possibility. I still want him to have everything he’s ever wanted.
Including her.
And that thought hurts worse than anything else.
Because, despite everything, despite the ache in my chest and the tears blurring my vision, I want him to be happy. I want nothing more than for Foster to find love, real love, and build the life he’s always dreamed of. He deserves that. He deserves someone who is only his. Someone he never has to let go of.
I want that for him.
Even if it means I’m standing alone in a quiet hallway, holding my heart together with shaking hands, trying to remember how to walk away without breaking completely.
I don’t know how long I stand here in this little alcove at the end of the hall, but I know that I can’t hide here forever. I need to face him and this situation, and I plan to do so with grace.
Foster made me no promises; he didn’t lie to me or coerce me into his bed. I fell there willingly. He’s an incredible human—one of my favorites, if not my very favorite person—and it’s not his fault I fell madly in love with him.
Closing my eyes, I wipe my cheeks with my hands, ridding myself of the evidence of my tears, while I focus on breathing. I can do this. I won’t tell him that I know he saw her, not until we get Carrie and the girls back home safely. Then, I’ll let him know how happy I am for him, and I’ll walk away.
He deserves that.
With a plan, I stand tall, slowly blink open my eyes, and put one foot in front of the other. As I’m passing the small concession room, Foster is walking out. “Hey.” He smiles when he sees me.
That smile.
Damn, this hurts.
“Hi.” I try to smile back at him, knowing that I’m falling short.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, his brow furrowing with concern.
“Yeah, just emotional.” I smile through the pain.
“Come here, baby,” he says, and I’m powerless to fight his embrace.
Instead, I step into his open arms, wrap mine around him, and bury my face in his chest. I’ll miss this. The safety his embrace brings. The comfort of his scent, the way I seem to fit perfectly in his arms.
“Is she ready to go?” he asks, his arms still locked around me, holding me together when I feel like I’m coming apart.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice muffled against his chest. “They were finishing her discharge papers. The girls are with her. I came to find you to update you, and I just…” My words trail off. I don’t finish the sentence because I don’t know how to explain that I needed to breathe, needed something solid to hold on to before I shattered completely.