Page 98 of The Fate of Us

“And what if it’s Claire, what if she is leaving these notes for me?”

I grip the back of my neck. “It’s not. We ruled her out. The best place you can be is under my watch.”

“No.”

“Anna, listen to him,” Liam interjects.

“I won’t be made a fool of,” she says as she paces the living room.

I groan as I stand in front of her. “You won’t be.”

“I’m not going.”

Fuck this. I know she won’t listen to me. She never would have told me about this note, it was Liam who texted me. I hate to do this but I have no other choice. I grab her around the waist and hoist her over my shoulder.

“Noah, put me down.”

“No,” I state as Liam clearly understands my intention and runs to the door to open it for me. “You are coming home.”

“You cannot force me to do this.”

“Too bad. I am.”

I manage to open the back door of my SUV issued by the police department. It’s got a screen and child locks so she won’t be able to fight me.

“You are treating me like a child!” she huffs as I throw her into the back seat.

“No, I am treating you like the love of my life and all I want to do is protect you.” I slam the door and move around to the driver’s seat.

The drive back to our house is silent. I glance at her through the rearview mirror a few times but she sits with her arms crossed, glaring at me.

I breathe a sigh of relief to see Claire’s car isn’t around. I get out of the car and open the back door for Anna. She jumps out and storms into the house.

I follow her inside, pushing Brutus away as I watch her climb the steps. I follow her into the bedroom. She stops in front of the bed, her fists clenched at her sides.

I shut the door behind me and lock it.

“You going to lock me in this room like some kind of damsel?”

“Anna,” I sigh. “I’m not locking you in here. We need to talk.”

“I’m tired of talking, Noah. I don’t want to hear any more about that bitch living downstairs. I just want her gone.”

“She will be sooner than you think.”

She rolls her eyes at me and her hand goes to the necklace I gave her. “This is getting old, Noah.”

“I know.”

“Ugh, why can’t we just go back to how it was before?” she says, flustered. “I keep holding on to this false hope that we can but I am not so sure anymore.”

“Anna.”

“No, I’m done, Noah. I’ve had my heart pulled in too many directions. I don’t care if you aren’t fucking her. I just need peace and I can’t have it with her around. We need to just end this. Maybe when it’s all over we can find our way back to each other.”

“And you think I am at peace in this situation?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t see you doing anything to change it.”

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