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That’s not a bad idea. I doubt this will be pretty, and although I don’t know my neighbors yet, I don’t want them to witness our break-up.
I don’t want to witness it myself, but what choice do I have?
I step back, leaving Tanner to shut the door, which he does, dropping his overnight bag before he turns to face me, opening his mouth to say something. He closes it straight away, though, his eyes alighting on the box I’d started packing. “What’s happening, Zara?” A tear falls onto my cheek, followed by another, and he steps closer, looking tortured. “Don’t cry, baby. Please.”
“H—How can I do anything else?”
“A—Are you leaving me?” he whispers, and I nod, noting how quickly his face pales. “Is there someone else?”
I stagger slightly and although he reaches out to help, I pull away from him, anger getting the better of my tears.
“Someone else? Of course not. How could you think that of me?”
“Sorry,” he says, pushing his fingers back through his hair. “After everything Sabrina did… after all the years we spent…”
“I’m not Sabrina,” I yell and he jumps. “I thought you trusted me.”
“I do, and I’m sorry.” He shakes his head. “I’ve just been telling Dawson how much I trust you… and that it came so naturally to me.”
“In that case…”
He holds up his hand, and I stop talking. “What do you expect?” he says. “You’ve just told me you’re leaving me. You’re packing your things, and I don’t have a clue why. What did I do wrong? You said you loved me.”
“I do. But I can’t stay.”
“I can’t let you leave,” he says, stepping closer. I don’t move away this time, and I look up into his eyes.
“You’ll be okay, Tanner.”
“No, I won’t. Not without you.” I step back now, but he shakes his head and reaches out, taking my hands and pulling me close to him, his eyes boring into mine. “Please don’t do this. I need you, Zara… more than ever.”
What’s this? What’s he talking about?”
“Why ‘more than ever’?” I ask. “Has something happened?”
“Yes.” He tips his head back, staring at the ceiling for a second or two, before he looks down at me again, the glistening sadness behind his eyes taking my breath away. “I just got an email from Ezra.”
“Who’s Ezra?”
“He’s my lawyer.”
“What did he want?”
“To tell me he’d heard from Sabrina’s attorney. She’s applying…” He stops talking and swallows hard. “She’s applying for full custody of Nash.”
Oh, God. It’s like my worst nightmare coming true before me.
“Tanner, I…”
He shakes his head. “There’s more. The reason she’s given is that it’s not safe for Nash to be around you.”
“Not safe? Why?”
I feel his hands on my waist and he pulls me nearer to him. “She’s claiming you’ve been fired for negligence, and she’s saying she won’t let me have access to Nash as long as I’m with you.”
I push against his chest, and he frowns. “Let me go.”
“No.”
