Page 46 of The Hollywood Billionaire's Fangirl Wife

“Please stay.”

The words came out hoarse and raw, torn from somewhere deep in his throat, and her head jerked up at the sound, her lovely face still ravaged by tears.

“You know I love them, too,” Guy said jerkily, his voice cracking on the words when he looked toward the birds who had become such an unexpected part of his world. “Right?”

His wife slowly nodded...even as she slowly wrapped her arms around her body as if prepared to ward off another killing blow.

From him.

The realization that she was literally bracing herself against him, against the man who was supposed to protect her, sent fear gnawing at his bones, but Guy reminded himself doggedly that he owed it to his innocent wife to finish what he had to say, no matter how much it destroyed him to see that defensive posture.

“We both know it’s not fair for them to suffer another move,” he managed to grit out. "Right?"

"R-Right."

It hurt to see how just that one word seemed to cost her everything, and Guy had to clench his hands against the urge to reach for her.

“But I can’t...” she started, then stopped, her voice breaking completely.

“I’m not asking you to.”

Guy's heart started bleeding at what he was about to say.

She looked at him in a daze. "I...I don't understand—"

“I’ll be the one to move out.”

Tenderhearted as she was, his wife started shaking her head, but Guy knew there was no other way but this.

“The ranch is yours.” The words made Guy feel like he was signing his own death warrant. “Everything here is yours. All of it. I won’t take any of it away from you.”

“G-Guy—”

“I love you,” he said rawly, the words scraping his throat.

Her lips started to tremble, and for a moment, just one damn moment, her mouth parted as if she wanted to say something, as if the words were right there waiting to spill out—

But then she pressed them together firmly and looked away, and that almost-response hurt worse than silence ever could.

"Can you...can you at least tell me that you believe I love you?" And this time, it was Guy's own voice that cracked. "Because I do, sweetheart. I love you."

But all she did was look at him, her hands clutching a bag of seeds like a lifeline.

“I love you.”

This was the only thing left for him to do. Repeat the words one last time—

"Always."

Before finally turning his back on her...because he could see that looking at him for one second longer would break her completely, and he’d already done enough damage.

THE WEEK THAT FOLLOWEDwas a blur of work and more work. The only reprieve he allowed himself from it was when he had apologized to Krista and Jack. Separately at first, then together the second time. It was only fitting, considering how it was Guy's own pride that had dragged them unwittingly into his plans for vengeance.

He had been hoping exhaustion would permanently numb him to losing everyone and everything that mattered to him, but Guy soon realized even this, too, had its limits. He could workhimself to death if he wished, but there was just no way to completely work the pain out of his system.

As days passed by, even his friends took notice of how he had lost weight, but he couldn't seem to derive any comfort from their concern and offers of sympathy and comfort. By the second week, desperation had gotten the better of him. All Guy wanted was to hear his wife's voice...only to find out that she had blocked his number. Tagged all of his email addresses as spam. And deleted all of her socials as if even sharing Internet space with Guy was an unbearable torment.

Poppy was his only source of information, and while he believed her when she told him that she and Valerian would keep praying for Jillian and him, her words also remained the same, the regret in her eyes only deepening every time he asked her about his wife.

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