Page 108 of The Pucking Wrong Number

He was a psychopath.

He was also out for a run at that moment, the only silver lining on a cloud so black you’d never be able to get through it.

I could gather some things in a bag, get away before he came back.

Yes, that’s what I’d do.

I quickly grabbed a backpack and started throwing some clothes and essentials into it.

My breath came out in harsh gasps the whole time, because my body was having trouble functioning.

The demise of my love story, my happily ever after, had been so sudden, so cruel, my body was having trouble taking it.

I grabbed my backpack and headed out of the room and down the hallway towards the elevators.

“Hey sweetheart, what’s the hurry?” Lincoln’s voice shot out from the living room. I froze, my heart pounding in my chest, so loud I was sure there was no way he wouldn’t hear it.

And know what I was about to do.

I squeezed my eyes closed, and then finally turned to face him, pasting a placid smile on my lips, like his very existence at that moment wasn’t fucking destroying me.

“I didn’t hear you come home. How was your run?” My voice was perfectly calm, a feat deserving a gold medal, honestly.

He was standing there, shirtless as he always was after a run in the humid heat that had been building every day. A sun-drenched ripped god. My heart broke again just staring at all that beauty.

And knowing it was lost to me forever.

“It was fine. But where are you going?” His gold eyes were searing my skin as he stared at me in that magical way of his, the one that had always seemed like love.

But I now knew it was madness.

"I have to go to the school to talk about credits for the upcoming semester."

"I'll drive you," he said, pulling his shirt from his pants and sliding it over his head.

Blind panic surged through me. No. I had to get away now. I couldn’t wait until his game tomorrow. I’d never be able to stay here, to sleep in his arms…to pretend.

"Uh, no, that's okay. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, and then I was going to go to the library," I threw out, trying to sound flippant, and hoping desperately that today would be the one day he wouldn’t want to spend every second with me.

If only those stupid videos had come in five minutes earlier.

He frowned. "Everything okay?"

“Of course,” I grinned, the smile like acid on my lips. I walked over and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

I turned to leave, feeling his questions following me as I forced myself to walk slowly to the elevator.

And then I heard him chuckle…

“Sure you don’t want to talk about those videos on your phone?” he called out casually to me.

I froze in place…goosebumps gathering on my skin.

"What videos?" I asked, unable to get myself to turn around and face him. I was a terrible actress, perhaps the worst actually.

His footsteps slowly approached me from behind. One step…then another.

I was trying to calculate what chance I had to make it to the elevator and close the doors before he caught me.

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