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Jana stared at him like he was crazy. “She went out.”
“And Zara?”
She pointed at her feet, where Zara was playing with a bunch of colored blocks. Henry’s heartbeat slowed but still did not return to normal just yet.
“Did she say where she was going?”
The maid shrugged. “Not my place to ask.”
“Come on,” Henry said, exasperated beyond belief. She had done this before ... this disappearing act. At least she hadn’t taken Zara with her this time.
“She said she was out looking for treats for that cat of yours.”
“What?” Henry did not understand. Why would Kirsten leave to find cat treats? And by cat treats, did she mean for his pet or for Sher? He felt a shudder down his spine at the thought that she meant Sher ... Sher was unpredictable, which made her dangerous. There was no telling what she would do if she faced Kirsten. Kirsten could not defend herself against a tiger shifter, whether in tiger form or not.
He felt his heart rate increase again as he began to panic. What could he possibly do?
TWENTY-NINE
KIRSTEN
Kirsten was feeling mournful when she woke up the next day after making love to Henry. She had tried to be what she believed he wanted, what he deserved, which was a person with the same genetics as his, a tiger shifter mate who could help raise a tiger shifter daughter.
She desperately wanted to believe him when he said that she was his mate and that even though she was a human, she was enough. But deep in Kirsten’s soul, despite the love that had grown in her heart for him, she felt like it wasn’t right to be the human standing between a tiger shifter mother and her child.
It was a strange world that Kirsten told herself she couldn’t commit to. She belonged somewhere else, taking care of children, human children, where she wouldn’t get in the way of anyone’s long lost love.
So, after getting up and tending to Zara, she decided to make a fateful choice. She held the child closely, feeling her heart begin to fragment into tiny pieces as she decided what she was going to do.
She would leave Zara with the maid until Henry got back. She would be safe that way. Saying goodbye to Henry would be too painful, and hell, there was a likelihood that he physically wouldn’t even allow her to leave. It seemed cold, but Kirsten thought it was best to save them both the pain of an in-person farewell.
Once the maid and cook had arrived, Kirsten placed Zara in a bassinet in her bedroom. She sat down at a desk by the window, noting that it had started to rain, the glass patterned with long streams of drizzle. She leaned on her palm, sighing at the depressing sight, but pressed on for Henry’s sake.
She pulled out a sheet of paper from her notebook that she carried with her and started writing. It felt as tortuous as having someone slowly remove the bed of your nails, but it had to be done. She had to leave him with some kind of explanation.
“Dear Henry,” she began. “The time I spent with you has been nothing short of astonishing, magical, and a dream come true. My feelings for you have grown since our first professional interaction, flourishing into something I believe is akin to love.”
Kirsten paused, squeezing the pen and her eyes as she spelled out the L word. She felt an impulse to toss the sheet of paper away, then dug back into the words, feeling like it was far too late to back out.
“Or just love, plain love. I have fallen for both you and Zara. You have both blessed my life in ways I cannot ever express. But please, just know that what we had was real and the most beautiful experience of my entire life.”
The rain outside began to fall harder, smacking against the window like hands battling against a door. She went on.
“Nevertheless, I cannot stay. I don’t belong in your world, Henry. I am a human, and you are a shifter. As is Sher, as is Zara. I could never be the mother Sher would be. I implore you to give her another chance and to carve out the life all three of you deserve.”
She stopped for a moment, then scribbled a final sentence into the farewell letter that she would have inscribed on her very soul.
“Plus, I think I am allergic to cats. I tend to sneeze a lot when I’m around you and Zara. We just aren’t a good fit.”
Kirsten hoped that he would see the wit in her last sentence but knew that it wasn’t likely. She signed off with love, then signed her name.
It was done.
She folded the piece of paper, holding in her emotions like a bomb at the center of her chest. She slipped it into an envelope and placed it on the pillow on his bed.
Then she packed her bag with all her belongings and set them near the front door.
Kirsten picked up Zara, who was cooing with excitement. It destroyed her to see the little girl’s excitement at her presence. She was truly in love with the child, and the idea of never seeing her again made her feel like she was shot in the heart.
