“I have plenty to make up for, and I will. I hated the fact that you were married to him. I still fucking do. Every part of me does.”
His hand rises to my cheek.
“But I never hated you. I tried. Believe me, I fucking tried.Couldn’t do it.”
I lean into his touch.
“You have to stay away from me.”
A crease appears between his brows.
“Because you can’t love me. Not the way I deserve to be loved.”
The words hurt.
“Now that I finally have my life back, I have to take this chance. I have to choose myself for once.”
His touch stills.
“I deserve to be loved properly. And you can’t give me that. You see me as yours. As something to keep, to obsess over.”
A tear falls down my cheek.
“But that’s not the same as love.”
His amber eyes darken, but he says nothing.
His jaw tightens, and without a word, he leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead.
Then he turns and leaves.
Taking my heart with him. Or whatever remains of it.
Did I really expect him to tell me he loved me?
Hunter never lied about who he was.
I just wish he could.
Love me, that is.
Chapter 52
Piper
I have my nose buried in a book as I sit on the sofa in my dorm.
Something I’ve been doing a lot lately.
And I cry.
The book isn’t even that sad.
I’m crying for myself.
Because apparently I’ve lost all common sense and all I do these days is cry and cry and cry.
That’s it.
