Page 360 of Now and Forever

I let my ears follow his hushed progress. From the whish of his clothes to the sound of the grating zipper and the soft clink of his buckle, my ears took in the soft noise he was making as my heart hammered rapidly.

Was he simply going to walk out of here without a word? It was probably late in the wee hours of the morning; therefore, there was no point of him leaving unless he regretted what had transpired between us. Or maybe he needed to go home and seek his bed with his girlfriend in it…

My mind raced with all these scenarios when I realized his movements were headed towards my side of the bed. My heart stopped functioning altogether when I felt his presence before me while I kept the pretense that I was still sound asleep.

His thumb was the first thing I felt as it brushed against the bottom of my lip before he dragged his hand to my chin, gliding it up my face until he cupped it, cradling it with his palm. I heard him take a sharp breath, as if he was having a tough time.

“Forget me, sweet Ava …” he started saying, crushing any hopes of continuing this between us. “Because I have …” His lips caressed the softness of my cheek before I felt his breath brush against my ear. He then whispered, “Since the moment I found out you never really cared for me.”

My heart felt like it had been staked right then and there. Hearing those words meant only one thing.

Fuck the blasted pretense of sleep, I decided hastily.

I snapped my eyes open, petrified as I gazed into the eyes of the man I had lost long ago. “You lied.”

Fuck. What the blasted fuck was he playing at?

A cruel, vindictive smile etched across his face before he straightened himself, shrugging down at me. “It stings to be lied to, does it not?” He then gave me a cutting look that made my insides go cold. “I don’t ever want to see you again, so stop looking for me. That part of me … He died a decade ago. Goodbye, Ava.”

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