Page 110 of Piece Us Together

Oh.

It feels like I’ve been cut at the knees. I have to steady myself even though I’m already sitting, splaying my free hand on the counter and hovering my upper body over it. The world spins.

I’ve lost them already.

“So, the two of you decided, then?” I force myself to ask.

“Decided?”

“That I’m not your dom. Not yoursir.” I close my eyes like I can hide from the reality of it. My body sinks against the counter, hope seeping out of my pores.You’ll get hurt. You’ll regret this.. “Decided that I don’t have a place with you anymore. That this—us, the three of us—is over.”

All I can hear is his stuttering breath. I’m patient.

Well, I try to be patient. But it’s killing me. I have to know.

I think I’m in love with them and I have to fuckingknow.

“Nolan?”

“I don’t know,” he says softly. “He didn’t want to talk about it.”

I can’t help but chuckle a little, feeling impossibly fond of the stubborn man in our lives. “I can’t say that I’m entirely surprised. Not much of a talker, that one.”

Nolan laughs too, breathy and sad. “Not much, no.”

“What about you? Do you want to talk to me about it?”

He makes a soft sound that I can’t quite interpret. The muffled sob that follows though—that one I can pinpoint easily.

“Oh, darling…” I rest my forehead on my arm, the cold surface of my counter seeping into me. “I wish—” I cut myself off, literally biting my tongue as I growl in frustration. There is so much I need to say, but it’s not fair to say it to only one of them. Especially not with how things are now.

I don’t know how to fix this.

But I have to. Ihaveto.

“What do you need from me, Nolan? I’ll do anything.”

“I don’t know.” He sniffles. “Idon’t know.”

Me neither, darling.

“How are you feeling, physically?”

I can hear his confusion when he answers. “Um, I’m okay? A little hungry, maybe. I just woke up from a nap.”

“Did you sleep well?” I ask next, working my way through my mental checklist for subdrop. That’s the first priority here, after all. Which is perfect because that’s something I can actually handle.

“Yeah, surprisingly. I went down pretty soon after we got home and slept hard.”

“That’s to be expected. You had a very active few days followed by a major adrenaline spike and onslaught of emotions. I’m glad you got some rest. Did—” I pause, not sure where the boundaries are.But I have to know.“Did Maison sleep?”

“No, he didn’t.” There’s a pause, but I can sense that there’s more he wants to say. I give him the time he needs.

“He wasn’t here when I woke up.”

I frown. “Not in the bed? Or not home?”

“Both…”

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