Page 141 of Riordan's Revenge

A fresh wave of emotion rocked me.

Never again would she leap into my arms. Never again would I accept her slight weight and hug her to me. I was addicted to the joy she wore like a crown. To her fierce attitude and the way she needed me. I loved her taste. Her mind. Her body.

I fucking adored my wild girl and I’d lost her.

I brushed my knuckles over the crushing sensation in my chest. I’d been destroyed once in this life already and lived the impossible nightmare. An event I’d kept praying was a lie and had never truly got over.

Cassie had found a way into my ruined heart then shattered it, and I couldn’t even blame her. She did what she told me she’d do. She was honest to the end. I’d brought about the end of her infatuation with me. I’d told her I loved her. I’d fallen for her, and she’d fallen right out of love, just like she’d promised.

It was me who’d broken our deal.

I was never supposed to catch feelings, but I was in so deep there was no way out.

One thing for certain was I couldn’t work in the same place she existed.

I’d return to her flat and leave my skeleton crew pass in the skull on our countertop, a new failure to add to her list of lost obsessions.

Hercountertop, I corrected. I didn’t live there and I never had.

Exhausted, I scrubbed my eyes.

Starting over would be hard. In buying her nice things, I’d burned through my wages from Arran, barely leaving me enough to fuel up my bike and find a place to sleep that wasn’t my car for the night. I didn’t regret it. I wanted her to be comfortable. Happy.

Which meant getting out of her way.

After losing my last job, I’d intended to drive south and find work in another city. My lungs inflated on a heavy breath. That was what I needed to do today, so why the fuck was I sitting here, moping?

I stood on the rocky ledge, a slide of earth and pebbles clattering down into the open air.

There was one thing left to do.

Loving Cassie was going to haunt me for the rest of my life, and in the hours since I’d read her note, I’d resisted the burning need to check my phone. Her tracker was on there. I needed to delete it.

No, I needed to do something more extreme.

I needed to toss the fucking thing. Extracting my phone from my pocket, I killed the music and crushed it though the damn thing wouldn’t break. Sending it flying over the cliff was the only way to free myself. I still had the link Shade had sent me to set up Cassie’s tracker in the first place. Without losing access entirely, I’d reinstate it in a moment of weakness. I couldn’t do that.

All I needed to do was throw.

I gritted my teeth and pulled back my hand.

Something fell to my feet, catching the breeze.

In the act of going into my pocket, I’d also drawn out Cassie’s note. It fluttered over the edge of the cliff.

With a howl, I dropped to my knees and snatched it from the air, nearly losing my balance and with more rocks falling to the chasm. The drop loomed below.

I scrambled back to the base of a tree, holding the fucking thing to my chest while my heart pounded so hard I could barely breathe.

What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I let this go?

I opened it again, needing the closure and to force myself to face it.

Riordan,sorry. It happened. I fell out of love with you.

You’re expecting this, so it can’t be a surprise.

We’re split up now.

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