Page 153 of Say My Name

We stay tangled together until our breathing slows.

Dominic’s heartbeat steadies beneath my palm. I count each beat because counting is easier than acknowledging what happens when he moves.

Eventually, he lifts his head.

I see the decision in his face.

“You’re leaving.”

“I have to.” His voice is quiet, leaving no room for argument.

“No, you don’t.”

Dominic eases out of me and sits on the edge of the bed. The loss of him leaves me cold despite the warmth in the room.

“Staying would let us pretend this fixed something,” he says.

“It changed something.”

He turns back to me. “What did it change?”

I pull the sheet over my body. “You told me you love me.”

“I told you because I do.”

“You can’t say that and walk out.” My hand shoots out to grip his arm, a useless anchor.

“I can’t say it and keep accepting half of a relationship.”

He stands and reaches for his trousers.

I watch him dress. By the time he buttons his shirt, he looks composed again.

Dominic sits beside me long enough to brush the tangled hair away from my face. He kisses my forehead.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“I know.”

I want to ask him to stay again, but he already told me what staying would require. He needs an answer, not another request for time.

I follow him to the front door wrapped in my robe.

His hand closes around the knob.

“Dominic.”

He turns.

I stare at the man I love. Saying the words means trusting that I can love him without disappearing inside the life we build together. It means accepting that I can’t guarantee he’ll never leave.

I can’t make myself speak. The only sound in the hallway is his quiet breathing as he waits for an answer I don’t know how to give.

Dominic watches me fail.

His expression softens with painful understanding.

“I meant it,” he says.