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This was painfully accurate "I had to go like that, had to cut the ties or I couldn’t have done it," she said softly "I just couldn’t stay here and face … everything"

"That’s uy who’d always had a pack of siblings to pull together for support But she realized there was so he hadn’t said

He’d felt abandoned by her, which was a very real issue for him since he’d been abandoned cruelly before "Aidan--"

"No one but you bla to let this be about him "Do I need to repeat that?"

"That’s not quite true"

"Yes it is--"

"No," she said "I appreciate you saying that, really, I do, but at Ashley’s funeral, my dad--" She broke off and closed her eyes, and just like that she was back there Sitting in the front row next to her sobbingwith fury

At her

And then in the next round

He’d died there, mad at her

She opened her eyes "My dad blamed me"

Aidan shook his head and reached for her "No--"

"He did, Aidan I saw it in his eyes And then he had the heart attack"

"I was there," he said, "at the funeral He was devastated, yes And angry at fate or whatever, but not you Lily--"

She quickly turned away to get a daive herself ato fall She re unable to speak about what had happened About the fact that she was leaving About anything, really She’d been consury words that night, and she kne in hindsight that she’d hurt him badly It was a wonder he talked to her these days at all, which was a visceral reminder that he wasn’t a man to repeat his mistakes No ht, she knew he’d never trust her with his heart again

"Even if you believed what happened to Ashley was your fault," he said behind her, with devastating gentleness, "even if your dad blaet out of town, you didn’t have to stop as happening between you andwith her back still to hi so that she could hardly speak "That’s the thing," she whispered, denying what her heart wanted to believe was true "Nothing was happening between you andbetween us--"

His hands settled on her shoulders He’d gotten up froasp in surprise "Aidan--"