And this was it. The end of our story.
I wouldn’t hurt him again. He wouldn’t hurt me again.
We’re better off apart.
He whispered, voice shaking, “I love you. I never stopped loving you. I’m sorry I hurt you. But I love you, Sloane. I always have. I’m sorry I pulled away. I’m sorry I betrayed you. I’m sorry I let you down. But I need you to know, no matter what, even if we separate, I’ll still be there whenever you need me. You can fall apart. You can push me away. But you’ll still be held. I promise.”
Then he touched his wedding ring, still on his finger, and slowly slid it off. Taking my hand, he placed it in my palm.
“I have yours. Now you have mine. Let it hold the memories we share, Sloane. We had good ones too. We smiled. We laughed.We made love. We were happy once. And we brought a beautiful child into this world.”
In that moment, looking into his eyes, I realized painfully that I was going to love him forever. Whether I wanted to or not.
But I needed to let him go.
We hurt each other too much.
“Cam...” I whispered.
He paused, looking at me, and through my tears I forced myself to meet his gaze.
“I know I’ve hurt you too many times over the years. I know I’m hard to understand, and I know you tried. And I want to thank you for that.For trying, for holding on through our marriage.”
I swallowed, anxiety tightening in my chest.
“But you hurt me, too. Deeply. And I don’t think I’ll ever get past that.”
The words were hard.
Even now, especially now.
But I had to say them.
For the fourth and final time.
“You once said, ‘I love you, but I’m not in love with you.’”
I swallowed hard again as that ache flared, pressing into my ribs.
“I am. I’ve been in love with you, and perhaps I always will be. But this is where our story ends.”
Then I stood, his ring clenched tightly in my hand.
And I walked away.
Leaving him behind.
Chapter Fourteen
Cameron
“Stop staring at her all the time,” Dean said beside me.
He startled me a little, but not enough to pull my eyes away from her.
“You’re gonna creep her out,” he added. Then, after a pause, “You’re even creepingmeout.”
I sighed. “What do you want, Dean?”
