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“Then tell me when I stopped being your everything,” I challenged, keeping our faces mere millimeters apart. For a fraction of a second, he stopped breathing. A short burst of heat hit my mouth when he spoke.
“This is the way it has to be. It’s the way it’s always had to be.”
“You can’t do it. You can’t tell me,” I taunted, hope taking root inside my heart that this was Daniel being stubborn because he’d made up his mind about how he wanted to do things. Without explanation. Because God forbid he ever be forthcoming without me having to fight for every answer.
He rolled his chair backward, increasing the distance between us, like he couldn’t stand to be near me a second longer. As if he’d pushed me, I stumbled, reaching for the desk, needing its support. I struggled to stay on my feet as tears clouded my vision.
“This is wrong,” I choked out, not bothering to swipe away the moisture on my cheeks.
The chair moved a hair’s breadth toward me before reversing course.
“This is what’s best for you,” he said hoarsely, his mouth contorting downward, those strong hands that knew every inch of me gripping his thighs.
“When did I stop getting a say in that?” I asked, throat raw.
“Please.” I didn’t know what he was asking me for, but there was pain in the word. “Don’t cry. One day you’ll see I’m right.” His fingers twitched, and I held my breath. For a fleeting second, I thought he would touch me. But he didn’t.
“You already know you’re wrong,” I countered.
“The time for us has come to an end,” Daniel replied resolutely. “Focus on what’s ahead of you. I hope someday this moment won’t taint your memories, and you’ll think of what we had together fondly.”
My mouth dropped open. “Fondly? Are you kidding me? At least have the decency not to treat me like I’m a goddamned stranger. And don’t insult me with such a blasé word for what wehad. Fuck fond,” I spat, gripping the edge of the desk until my joints almost cracked.
He leaned back and crossed one leg so his ankle rested on his knee. Casual. Indifferent. Done. “It’s over.”
“You already said that,” I shot back.
He sighed heavily, as if I were a nuisance and not the woman at the center of his world. If he’d wanted me to believe otherwise, he should have done a better job over the years of proving I wasn’t. Until this moment, I had never doubted his feelings for me. Even though verbal expression was rare, Iknewhe loved me. His actions up to this point had never wavered, always showing me that was true even if he couldn’t say it.
“This isn’t up for discussion.”
I was tempted to sink to the floor, make him physically remove me. My heart screamed at him to stop this nonsense. Daniel had decided our fate. I knew when he could be moved and when he couldn’t. His mind was made up. I wouldn’t get anywhere by continuing to go round and round with him.
"You'll give me a week to find somewhere else to go," I said. "I'm not taking the apartment. And you can withdraw whatever you've deposited."
"This isn't a negotiation."
I sniffed, still seething. “You’ve made that abundantly clear.”
"A car is waiting for you downstairs to take you to your new apartment." He folded his hands around his knee, and despite hisI-don’t-give-a-fuck-anymoredemeanor, his knuckles were white.
“One week. That’s not asking too much.”
"There's no need to drag this out."
"We're not dragging anything out. You won't even know I'm here. I'm going to go through the stuff in the hallway and dig out what I came here with. The rest you can keep."
"Those things are yours. I bought them for you." He sounded offended—so help me God, if he was pulling that now…Iwas the one fucking offended.
"I don't want it. None of it means anything without you."
"Don't be absurd. You came here with nothing,” he said, affronted.
"I'm leaving with a lot less than that."
I straightened, the anger that had fueled me evaporating. We stared at one another, those eyes that had consumed me now dull and empty. I couldn’t resist moving back in front him until my legs pressed into his. I touched his soft hair and closed my eyes, cursing all the times I’d taken for granted doing this very thing. When I opened them, I saw a wary expression on his face.
I brushed his forehead with my lips, heart split wide open. “I love you so much I’ve forgotten everything else. There isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for you, Daniel. Don’t forget that.”
