Page 194 of Strange Seduction
He scoffed, almost laughed—but it wasn’t amusement. He shook his head and stepped forward to leave.
“Wait,” I said sharply. He stopped, spine stiffening.
“You forgot something.”
I slid out of the bed, legs weak but steady enough to carry me those few feet. I walked toward him slowly.
He turned, eyes unreadable. I didn’t flinch. I reached for his hand, turned his palm open, and placed the ring in it.
Princess cut. Golden. Engraved with the date we met.
It looked out of place in his hand.
His fingers closed around it instinctively, but his face didn’t move.
I stared at him one second longer, then reached for the door and slammed it shut between us.
The sound echoed through the room like a gunshot.
And then I slid down the back of it, legs folding underneath me, and let the sobs take over. Silent and shaking at first, thenloud, uncontrollable, ugly. The kind of cry that emptied your lungs and split your heart in two.
I stayed there for what felt like hours, my back to the door, knees to my chest, face buried in trembling hands.
And on the other side of the wood, I didn’t hear his footsteps.
I didn’t hear anything at all.
Just silence.
This Was Never Going To Be Simple.
Day Eighteen.
The door slammed in my face. Hard.
I stood there with the damn ring still warm in my palm, and her scent still on my skin.
Fuck.
I turned away, clutching the doorframe like it might keep me upright. It didn’t. Nothing would. Not now.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
I thought once she saw it all—once she saw how deeply I’d woven her into this new life—she’d realize she belonged here. With me. I wasn’t trying to trap her, and I wasn’t trying to control her. I just… couldn’t stand the idea of her slipping through my fingers.
Again.
The only thing on my mind was the promise I made to her dad.Take care of her.
I was doing a shitty job.I had to be for her to compare me to Wendell and Melissa of all fucking people.
I don’t even know if she realized how deep that cut. But it did. I felt it all the way to the bone. Because if there’s one thing I’ve spent my entire adult life trying not to be, it’s them.
I grew up watching that twisted, manipulative circus act they called a marriage. It was always a game with them. Every time my mother gave a little, she made sure to take something back. And my father? He didn’t love her—he owned her. Or at least tried to.
And Carmen thought I was like that?
That I’d do something as dirty as trap her into staying?
