Page 101 of Yours to Keep

It just stripped away the easy anger I’d been hiding behind, leaving something far more complicated in its place. The elevator dinged softly, doors sliding open, and I stepped inside.

This decision to walk away wasn’t about punishing him, or protesting what he was doing, or even protecting my pride. It was about protecting the parts of me that wouldn’t survive loving him from arm’s length.

If I stayed, I would keep hoping, keep watching, and keep breaking a little more every time our paths crossed and he looked at me like I was someone he used to know. I squared my shoulders, forcing my feet to move out of the elevator.

Once step closer to the administration offices. HR.

I’d fought too hard to become the kind of woman who could stand on her own feet to lose herself in a place, or a person, who made her forget how. Loving him didn’t mean I had to stay where it hurt to breathe.

I was three corridors away from HR when I heard someone call my name. “Bree?”

I turned to find Liana standing near the nurses’ station, her strawberry blonde hair pulled into a sleek twist, her sharp eyes softening the second they landed on my face. She frowned and stepped closer to me.

“Hey,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I replied, forcing a smile that felt completely off. “It’s just been a busy morning.”

Her gaze narrowed slightly. “Bree.”

Something in her tone cracked straight through my defenses and I glanced down at the folder clutched in my hands, the resignation letter inside suddenly weighing about fifty pounds.

“I’m fine,” I repeated, but it was even weaker this time.

“Yeah,” she said gently. “You look fantastic. Come with me.”

“I really should⁠—”

“Bree,” she repeated gently, already reaching for my elbow. “Please.”

Finally, I nodded and let her guide me down a quieter hallway and into a small, unused consultation room. The door clicked shut behind us, sealing out the hum of the hospital, and I sat before my knees gave out.

Liana pulled a chair close, turning it so she faced me fully. “Would you like to try that answer again?” she asked.

“I told you, I’m—” My voice cracked, and suddenly, I couldn’t hold it together anymore. Tears pressed at the backs of my eyes, pressure building in my chest. Then it all spilled over before I could stop it. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Bree,” she murmured, sliding a box of tissues toward me. “Hey. It’s okay.”

“I’m so sorry,” I choked out, taking a tissue and desperately pressing it to my eyes. “I didn’t mean to⁠—”

“Stop apologizing,” she said firmly. “You helped salvage the biggest disaster of my life. The least I can do is let you fall apart in peace.”

Despite everything, a shaky laugh slipped out of me. “Your wedding wasn’t that bad.”

“The ceremony was a flaming train wreck,” she corrected dryly. “The liberation party afterward? That was legendary. I still get texts about it.”

“I’m glad something good came out of it.”

“Something good always does,” she said quietly. “Now talk to me.”

I stared at my hands, twisting the edge of the folder. “I’m quitting.”

She didn’t flinch, but I saw the slight tightening around her eyes. “Okay. Do you want to tell me why?”

“You already know why,” I said. “The cuts. The changes. Everything.”

“That’s not the whole story,” she said gently.

“It is for me.” I swallowed hard. “I understand why he’s doing it. I do. I didn’t before, but I do now.”