Page 168 of Angel

I saw us at our best; hell, I believed in us, and that was worth fighting for.

Even if she never loved me again.

Chapter 30

ROXY

Ipaused my painting, my eyes tracking Angel as he swiveled away, breaking our locked gaze and prowling down the corridor.

There was a hunch of his shoulders and a slight wistfulness in his eyes that told me he wasn’t all good.

The back door opened, and I glanced out into the rear garden to see him heading toward the lake.

A wind blew, causing leaves to swirl in the air, and I sighed, rubbing my bump.

Autumn was getting close, and the temperatures were dipping.

Setting my brushes down, I cleaned up, took off my apron, and went to find him a coat.

I also wanted to figure out why he gave me that melancholy expression before he left.

Twigs and leaves crunched under my sneakers as I walked in the direction of the shore, his jacket in my hands.

I found him sitting on the cedar bench, in the middle of a phone call.

I was about to step away and give him privacy when I discerned the tone of his voice.

His timbre sounded wrecked, rough and hoarse with a friction that made me stop in my tracks.

I caught some of his words drifting through the air.

‘I’m frustrated by the expression she gives me when I try to love on her,’ Angel rasped, his resonance breaking with emotion. ‘She pulls away when I try to kiss her. I keep a smile on my face for her, but it’s proving too hard. I don’t know how much longer I can bear this rejection. Am I a fool for staying? Or am I just forcing a ghost of a marriage?’

My heart jolted as he gave ear to the speaker on the other end, his jaw tightening into a hard line.

‘Hell, Jude,’ Angel muttered. ‘Damn you for stating the obvious. So you’re saying I have to endure this for as long as it takes?’

He listened for a bit before muttering,

‘You’re a massive bundle of help today.’

A few muffled sentences were shared that I missed, my breath catching in my throat.

Then his chest expanded, his voice breaking into a ragged whisper.

‘That’s just it, Jude. I want it to be. I love Roxy so much, but I’m dying on the inside not knowing if she’ll ever feel the same back.’

After a few more murmurs, he disconnected the call.

I froze on the grass behind him, trapped, unable to alert him to my presence yet powerless to walk away.

My eyes remained fixed on him as tears spilled over my eyelashes and down my cheeks.

His head tipped back to the chair rest, and I jolted at the rivulets tracking down his face.

His broad shoulders heaved with silent, agonizing sobs that shook his entire frame.

Seeing him like this destroyed my last defenses.