Page 129 of Bitter Truths

“What are you doing here?” I ask stiffly.

Her face falls and she glances down at her feet, whispering, “I came to talk to you.”

I can’t stand to see her this way. Where once I craved her pain, now it fucking kills me, but I have to let it go. Dammit.

“It’s a little late for that, isn’t it?”

My fingers itch to touch her skin, smooth her silky hair back from her face, but I clench my hand instead. It’s harder than I ever thought possible, but I step back and shake my head.

“I-no, it’s not too late. Please don’t say that,” she says, searching my gaze.

“Hals, enough. What more can we possibly do to each other? This isn’t meant to be.”

The words feel hollow on my tongue, but they’re true. Maybe we loved each other once, but now that love is tainted and dirty.

I know I did my fair share and maybe it’s my turn to forgive, but the look in her eyes when she walked away the last time haunts me. We’re tearing each other apart.

If we’re not careful, there won’t be anything left to save.

“Griff—”

“No.” I slash my hand through the air, fighting back the burn in my chest. “Just go.”

With that, I step around her, pausing when she grabs my arm.

∞∞∞

HALSEY

Looking into his hazel eyes, I shrink away from his cool disdain. In all these years, I’ve seen love and light, darkness and hate, but I’ve never seen indifference.

It’s this that scares me the most. Am I too late?

Griffin steps past me and I look away, determined to live with the ache pressing on my chest. Maybe he’s right.

But no, he said it himself: after everything, we’re going to throw it away?

Grabbing his arm, I stare him in the eye, my heart thumping when he dips his chin and asks, “What are you doing?”

Sucking in a breath, I say, “Fighting.”

“What?”

“Fighting,” I say, stepping closer to him. His broad chest is warm and I take comfort in the heat because if I don’t convince him now, it’s the last sensation I’ll ever feel in relation to Griffin Hathaway again.

His brows drop over his eyes and he huffs before rubbing his brow. “Fighting?”

Nodding my head, I clench my hand at my side. I want to press my hands against him, wrap my arms around his middle, never let him go.

“Yes, for us,” I say, pulling my lips into a smile.

He looks away, and I ignore the way my pulse thumps, swallowing past the lump when he says, “Why? I think you made it pretty clear how you feel.”

Licking my lips, I close my eyes and open them, saying fiercely, “Because I’d rather have your hate than someone else’s love.”

The bottom falls out of my world when he raises my chin and stares into my eyes. I want to smooth the furrow between his brows, but I don’t know how he’ll react.

Fuck it. Reaching out, I hesitate when he frowns before smoothing my fingers over his skin, my pulse pumping at even this innocent caress.

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