Page 61 of Lie to Me

Yours,

Sloane.

She’s leaving. Again.

I can hardly breathe as I stare down at the letter. The words blur, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the wetness in my eyes or because my hands are trembling so hard the paper shakes before slipping through my fingers and dropping to the floor.

I grab my cup and throw it against the wall, the sound of shattering porcelain mixing with the thundering of my pulse. It makes me itch to find a gun and fucking shoot something and I watch as coffee drips down the white walls before taking a deep breath and sitting my ass down in front of the island. My hands find my hair and I tug on it as if the physical pain will help ease the ache inside my chest.

I once promised myself that if I ever found her again, I’d never let her go, no matter what I had to do to keep her. But how the hell can I force her to stay, knowing everything I do now?

You can’t.

She’s been through more pain and suffering than anyone should ever have to deal with.

Her abusive father.

The death of her mother.

Me breaking her heart.

Having to be separated from her twin brother just so she would be safe.

The loss of our baby.

The death of her aunt.

The pain of knowing it was her father’s actions that led to everything that transpired.

In all the years she’s been gone, the hope that resided in my mind of her returning has been my lifeline.

When I first met Izzy, it was so hard to be around her because of how much she reminded me of Sloane. And not because they look alike, but because they’re both strong as fuck women who, despite growing up around the horrors that can be found in our world, turned into two amazing women who both carry a strength within them. Neither Sloane nor my sister-in-law have let what has happened to them shape who they turned out to be. So many women in our twisted world turn out to be meek and vulnerable. Broken. But not Sloane and Izzy.

It took a while, but I eventually managed to be around her without her reminding me of Sloane.

And then Sloane walked into that hospital room and my world flipped on its axis. It was like everything seemed to align, like we may actually have a chance.

It feels as though I have loved Sloane my entire life. I love that woman with everything I have and everything I am. She owns me.

That gorgeous girl who stepped out onto that balcony that night flipped my world upside down. She made me fall for her so hard, so fast, and so fucking thoroughly, that I’ve never been the same since. And I honestly wouldn’t want to be.

My little warrior could ask me for the world and I would find a way to give her it. No amount of time or distance has ever changed the way I feel about her, and that isn’t about to change.

She told me to move on if I found someone who could make me happy, but she doesn’t realize the only woman on Earth who could ever make me happy isher. She doesn’t realize that I would wait ten lifetimes just for a chance to hold her once more. She doesn’t realize that she is the reason my heart beats. The reason my lungs fill with oxygen in every breath. She doesn’t realize that she is my sole purpose, and that she always has been.

I love Sloane more than life.

I love her enough to let her go.

I guess I just have to hope she comes back to me.

Chapter Thirty

Sloane

Present

For the past five days, I’ve done nothing but go to work and plan.

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