Page 123 of A Dose of Pretty Poison

I line myself up at her entrance, leaning over her and kissing her lips as I slide into her. Our moans mix together in the air as we’re both overtaken by the feeling of being so connected. So completely intertwined.

“You are the best thing in my life,” I say as I slowly pull in and out of her.

Her eyes water as she smiles, only half listening as she’s lost in the feeling of us. “And you’re the best thing in mine.”

This is why we work so well. Why I was able to go from never wanting a relationship to all but begging her to marry me. Because she’s my rule breaker. My game changer. The answer to all my choices.

She may have been the one to fall first, but it was me who ended up falling harder.

And I’m going to spend the rest of tonight doing everything I can to show her how true that is.

SHE LIES ON HERside while I spoon her from behind. My one arm is under her head while my other is draped over her, my fingers laced with hers. This morning, we couldn’t have been further apart. But tonight, I’ve never felt closer to her.

“I love you, Laiken,” I say, trying to put as much feeling into it as I can to make sure that’s never a question in her mind.

Her hand squeezes mine. “I love you, too. I always will, no matter what.”

As I hold her in my arms and let my eyes fall closed, I drift to sleep with ease for the first time in weeks.

THE SUN POURS INthrough the blinds, and I wake up feeling so refreshed. Last night was exactly what we needed—something to remind each other why we fell in love in the first place. It confirmed for me that no matter how hard things may get, I’d rather go through it with her than have it easy with someone else. But as I roll over to pull her close, I find her side of the bed empty and cold.

My eyes peel open, thinking that maybe we’re just on opposite sides of the king-sized bed, but she’s not there. I reach over to my nightstand and grab my phone to check the time.

7:30 a.m.

Good. I still have some time to enjoy her before Cam shows up and we have to convince her that this place will be good for her.

I sit up and rub my hands over my face before I slip out of bed. Heading for the stairs, I glance into the bathroom, but it’s empty. I tell myself that she’s probably downstairs making coffee or eating some breakfast, but when I notice she’s not there either, the panic starts to kick in.

“Laiken?” I call.

Nothing.

The whole house is quiet and her car isn’t in the driveway.

My fingers fly across the keys as I dial her number, but as I put it to my ear and listen to it immediately go to voicemail, my gaze lands on the picture frame that’s dismantled on the island. I feel like I can’t breathe as I step closer, seeing her handwriting scrawled across the back of our wedding photo.

I’m so sorry.

Three words. Three simple words that manage to send my entire world crashing down around me. And sitting beside them, shining in the sunlight that comes through the window, is the ring I proposed to her with.

No.

This can’t be happening.

She wouldn’t fucking do this!

I rush out into the living room, expecting to see her shoes by the front door, but they’re not there. Her purse isn’t on the couch where she left it last night. And as I take the stairs two at a time, running into our bedroom, I open the closet and feel my heart shatter into a million pieces as I see everything she owns is gone.

The only sign she was here at all is the unmade side of the bed where she laid in my arms last night and told me she loves me.

But if she loves me, why the fuck did she leave?

Running back down the stairs in a panic, I try to call her again, but it still goes straight to voicemail. And that’s when my entire body gives out and I crash to my knees.

Emotions flood through me in waves that threaten to pull me under, and honestly, I wish they would. Anything would be better than the pain I’m feeling. The way my chest feels like it’s cracked wide the fuck open, spilling all my organs out onto my lap, it’s excruciating.

She’s my whole life, and I know they say you shouldn’t do that—make one person everything to you. That a marriage should be equal, and you can’t make your entire world revolve around one person. But I did anyway, and now I don’t know how I’m supposed to go on without her.

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