Page 208 of Strange Seduction
Long pause.
This was it. This was the moment.
She shifted her weight, her free hand twitching at her side like she didn’t know what to do with it. I kept hoping she’d say something—anything—to buy us one more minute.
And then, awkwardly, she opened her arms.
It wasn’t a grand gesture. Just a small offering of kindness before we went our separate ways.
I stepped in, hesitant. But when her arms wrapped around my back and mine settled on her waist, it hit me like a fucking truck.
Her warmth.
The way her head rested against my chest like it belonged there.
It leveled me.
All the restlessness, the nausea of dread that had been sitting in my stomach for days—it all dulled under her touch. And I remembered, with horrifying clarity, that no matter how chaotic things got, she’d always been my calm.
She was my peace.
Even if it came wrapped in storms.
“I’m so sorry this didn’t work out,” she whispered. “I really wished we could’ve made it work.”
That cracked something in me. My hands tightened on her waist instinctively.
I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, Carmen. I was wrong. I take it all back. I don’t want you to go.”
Her breath caught, but she didn’t pull away.
“No, Teddy,” she murmured. “You were completely right. I still have a lot of growing to do. We both do. Hopefully… we can find our way back to each other someday. But for now, it’s best we part.”
I didn’t let go.
“I don’t want to.”
Her hands rested on my chest. “Theodore.”
“We can work on it together, baby,” I said quickly, clinging to the words. “We can grow together.”
She exhaled sharply. “We’ve hurt each other too much for that right now.”
I buried my face in her neck, refusing to let go.
“Amore mio, I swear, we’ll make it work somehow. Just—please. Please. Please. Don’t leave me, Carmen.”
Her hands moved to my wrists, tugging gently. “You gotta let me go, Theo.”
“No. Not like this.Quédate conmigo.”
“Baby,” she whispered, pain laced in every syllable, “please. Let me go.”
“Let’s talk about it. I take it all back.No quiero que te vayas.We can figure something out.Please.I swear—”
“Teddy.Detente por favor.This isn’t the way to go about it.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want you to leave.”
