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Before she could say anything, he blurted out, “We could be great; if you’d just give us a chance.”
A single tear ran down her cheek as she shook her head. “In another life.”
He’d had to give it one more try, and now that she’d shot him down, he needed to walk away with some semblance of his pride still intact.
Kissing her cheek, he murmured, “Goodbye, Sunshine. If you ever need me, I’m always here for you.”
And without another word, he walked back to his car—leaving his heart on her doorstep.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Dakota
She allowed herself one night to sob into her pillow and mourn the loss of the best relationship she’d ever had.
And while a sense of emptiness consumed her when she woke up on January second, she was determined to act like nothing was wrong.
Fake it ‘til you make it.
Her life went on autopilot. She showed up for work every day on time and made sure to spend her free time with Asher and laugh at the corny jokes that only a three-year-old would find funny, even though it was like something had died inside her.
She guessed in a way, it had.
Barney must have sensed her sorrow, because he made sure to be glued to her side whenever she was home.
“You’re a good boy,” she assured him with a kiss to the top of his head when he hopped on the couch to snuggle her while she attempted to watch a documentary on Netflix. Rom coms were going to be a thing of the past—at least for a while.
Dakota knew time healed all wounds, but this one wound was deep and was going to take a while.
She lost count of the number of times she’d picked up her phone to send him a text, but each time, she was at a loss for what to say.
“I’m so sorry,” seemed inadequate.
“I love you,” felt too little, too late.
“I miss you. Please forgive me,” felt the most right, but the vision of him leaving her had been so vivid, and the feeling of loss so real, that in the end she decided it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.
Being alone was her destiny; she’d long ago accepted that. But it had been nice to believe it wasn’t, if only for a little while.
****
Aiden
He got blackout drunk when he got home after dropping Dakota off on New Year’s Day and had kept a steady blood alcohol content of at least double the legal driving limit for the next several days.
Not the best way to start the new year, but it was the only way he could deal with the gaping hole she left in his heart.
By the evening of January fifth, he knew he couldn’t keep calling in sick to work and hauled his ass into the shower to sober up so he’d be ready to go to the hospital the next day.
When his head was finally clear, he went from heartbroken to pissed.
Pissed that she threw their relationship away, like it meant nothing.
Pissed that he’d never given her a reason to doubt his feelings for her.
Pissed that he was paying for another man’s sins.
Pissed that it felt like he’d been the only one committed to making it work.
