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“Simone,” Trent says, attempting to step around me. My arm snaps out, blocking his entrance.
“Chase, it’s okay. Let him through.”
The fuck it is, but I keep my thoughts to myself and back away from the door.
Cautiously, Trent moves through the narrow opening I gave him into our hotel suite. He stares intently at my woman. “I came to check on you. Are you…okay?” He cringes at his own question. None of us is okay after what happened yesterday. I aged a decade when I thought Cynthia was going to kill Simone.
“No,” she answers, with a sigh. “But I will be, with time and the people I love near me.”
My ears perk up hearing her saying the word “love.” It’s not a word she throws around willy-nilly. I stare at her, anxiety building in my bloodstream.
Trent nods, seeming to understand what she means. “It’s important to have those you care about close at a time like this.”
He steps deeper into the room, closer to my woman. Simone stands still, like she’s waiting for him to approach her.
An oily sensation coats my gut, twisting my stomach uncomfortably. I’m not sure what I’m witnessing, but I know it isn’t good, at least not for me.
When Trent sees Simone isn’t backing away, he closes the distance between them, pulling Simone into his arms. He holds her like he’ll never let her go. Simone’s more hesitant, her arms and hands hovering around him, but it is an embrace nonetheless.
I move forward to intervene, stop the reunion. Simone holds up a hand behind Trent’s back, halting me. She doesn’t want me to interfere.
My heart stops in my chest, crushing under the weight of the air I hold in my lungs. Simone is hugging her ex in front of me, letting him hold her in his arms the way a lover holds his partner. I wait for the flare of anger to take hold of me like it typically does in my jealousy. But it doesn’t come. It’s like a bucket of ice water has dropped over me, dousing my flame.
I’m losing the love of my life, and there’s not a damn thing I can do to stop it. My anger will drive her away. Fighting with Trent will validate her reason for leaving me.
Do I want to upset her?
No, I’ve never wanted to see her sad. Reacting in any violent way will hurt her feelings.
The only emotion I’ve strived to give her is happiness. If Trent is what makes her happy, who am I to stand in the way?
I love Simone, every beautiful and spiteful piece of her. She deserves joy in her life, happiness beyond measure, and never-ending love. I’ve loved her from afar before. I can continue to love her from afar again, happy she’s found her slice of eternal love. It’ll hurt, and I’ll never be the same without her, but when you love someone, you set them free.
Only in my case, she won’t return. Some things aren’t meant to be.
Trent pulls away a fraction from her, hope brightening his ridiculously tanned face. “Can we talk, please? We can go to the hotel restaurant, grab a bite to eat? I need you to hear me out. Please, Simone.”
She gives a curt nod of her head, her face unreadable. She may as well have hammered the nail home in my coffin with that hard nod. My heart is broken, as am I.
Grabbing her purse and phone, Simone hesitates, licking her lips. Her demeanor screams she doesn’t want to go with him, but she slides on her wedged heels, shuffling toward her ex. Coaxing her along, Trent gives Simone his arm, looping her hand through it when she doesn’t respond fast enough.
As he leads her out the door, I touch Simone’s shoulder. “Numbers…please, don’t go.”
There are so many things I want to say, but the words stick in the back of my throat. This may be the last time I talk to her, touch her, and I’m frozen.
She looks at me, determination set in her gray eyes. “Stop. I need to do this, Chase.”
If that’s her way of telling me I need to let her go, I hear her, loud and clear.
Unable to speak, I remove my hand from her body, stepping aside to let them leave. Simone’s face puckers like she’s trying not to cry. She gives me one last longing look filled with remorse before she lets Trent lead her down the hall and out of my life.
When she disappears from my sight, I release the air from my lungs, dropping to my knees as the gravity of my loss destroys my soul. My worst fear was Simone waking up and realizing I wasn’t good enough for her. It’s no longer a fear—it’s my reality.
Overwhelmed with grief, I remain kneeling on the floor of the hotel suite as time carries on. This is how Butch finds me, catatonic and lost in my head.
“Bro? I’ve tried getting ahold of you. Your cell went straight to voicemail. I saw Trent walk Simone into the restaurant downstairs. What the hell is going on?”
“I—I lost her,” I choke.
