Page 225 of Maddening Fixation

“No.” His answer was immediate. “Our rules exist for a reason.”

I laughed bitterly, the sound trembling with disbelief.

“Let me make sure I understand you. If you’d spent the rest of your life behind bars, I was expected to spend mine behind these locked doors too? Because apparently, no one thought to let me out without your permission?”

“Yes.”

The lack of hesitation made my stomach twist.

“Yes?”

His eyes didn’t leave mine. “That is the rule.”

The audacity of him almost made me laugh.

His face was inches from mine now.

Close enough that I could feel his breath against my skin.

My voice came out barely above a whisper. “I hate you.”

His expression didn’t change.

But my chest tightened. “I hate you so much, Romeo.”

The wind moved gently across the farm, carrying the scent of damp earth and crushed leaves. It lifted strands of my hair, blowing them across my face.

Before I could move, Romeo reached out.

His fingers brushed against my cheek as he carefully tucked my hair behind my ear.

The tenderness of the gesture caught me completely off guard.

For a man who had spent months turning my life into a prison, that small act of gentleness felt almost wrong.

His thumb lingered briefly against my cheek before he pulled away and rose to his feet.

Then he held out his hand.

An offer.

A gesture of help.

I stared at it for a moment, almost tempted to take it.

Instead, I pushed myself to my feet without his help, brushing the dirt from my clothes as I stood.

I turned away from him, unsettled by my own reaction.

I had imagined this moment for four months.

I had pictured seeing Romeo again and feeling nothing but rage. I had imagined screaming at him, hurting him with every word, making him understand even a fraction of the pain he had caused me.

But now that he was here...

Now that I knew his absence hadn’t been a choice...

That he hadn’t simply abandoned me...