He deserves the version of me that could stay.The one who could wake up tomorrow and choose love instead of sacrifice.
But that woman doesn’t exist.
I can’t let another girl—especially not one I love more than my own life—be destroyed because of my cowardice.
Belinda is my chance to make something right, to balance the scales my father shattered years ago.Saving her means losing everything else.
Including this.Including Hawk.
I have no choice.
I slip out of bed quietly, careful not to wake him.My legs feel heavy, my chest hollow.I amble to the kitchen and grab a pen and notepad.
I stare at it for a long time before writing.Just three short sentences.
Don’t worry about me.I will be fine.I meant it when I said I love you.
The ink blurs where a tear lands, but I don’t fix it.I fold the note, return to the bedroom, and set it where he’ll see it first thing—on the pillow beside him.
Then I dress in silence.
Outside, the world is still asleep.The stars are faint and fading.
I walk and find my rideshare waiting for me.
He’ll take me to Vinnie’s house in Austin, where I’ll sneak quietly into my suite, grab the dress, and take my own car to meet Chef.
Because it’s what I have to do.
Funny.
I’m not afraid of dying.
Only of leaving Hawk having to live without knowing why I left.
