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Never would she forget leaving the courthouse, Tho, and the veritable storer, humiliation, sorrow but most of allhatred In that moment she’d hated him with every bit as much passion as she’d once loved him The realization that she had never truly loved hies of her soul into irreparable shreds Because she’d allowed his she hadn’t ever truly felt for him It had all been a carefully orchestrated deception, her choices taken, leaving her powerless to his control She’d felt violated Raped Not physically but e fro her false hopes and dreas she’d longed for her entire life were finally hers and leaving her crushed beyond repair because where she had nothing before, now she was nothing Unworthy, unloved without the ability to ever dreaain She didn’t deserve better and never would And da of hope when she’d refused to ever travel down a path that only led to heartbreak and shattered dreams

Rare and precious? It was a lie The idea that he hadeven for a few beautiful, stolen hours

She exited the diner after an hour-long breakfast where she’d suffered the scrutiny of countless gawkers It seemed that the entire damn town suddenly descended on the diner to the point it was standing roo bar by the register where people usually sat when they were only having coffee or just eating alone

So there to eat They walked by her table at the , staring sha their lips Some openly sneered A few bolder than the ones who looked and judged in silenceit loudly enough to be heard in the crowded diner

Eliza never responded, never said a word She ate in silence, not giving anyone the satisfaction of getting a reaction froed as soon as she was down the block and out of sight of the prying eyes froe and bravado she’d clung to like a shield for the last hour seeped fro balloon Her hands shook and she stuffed the to allow anyone to see her outward shoeakness

And then she felt it again A war in her soul Wade She didn’t even bother turning to look for hi he was there bolstered her flagging reserves It comforted her and terrified her in equal parts

When had she ever depended on anyone except herself? Yeah, she depended on Dane, her team, but in a professional capacity and they depended on her every bit as much as she depended on them They had to in order to keep each other alive There was no such reciprocity when it ca professional about her sudden dependency It was personal and she had no idea how the hell it happened or when

Or why she wasn’t fighting it Why was she accepting it? Had she not juststupid and for believing the lies that both she and Wade were guilty of believing?

Had she turned into the very thing that had gotten her into this horrificto be loved, equating sex with so eo she had loathed the very sight of and expectingmore into the situation because it reopened an old wound and reawakened the fierce longing to love and be loved?

Or had she beco herself off to others and lying to herself that she hadn’t recognized the si frootten into his face and snarled at hi this to yourself

Movement in her periphery diverted her attention froratefully turned, welco it was temporary because now that she’d finally been honest with herself and acknowledged what had been staring her in the face for hts--and Wade--weren’t si away

Her brow furrowed and she frowned as she viewed the convoy of , to her disside the grassy knoll in front of the courthouse

People poured out of the diner and Eliza shrank back, taking refuge in the tight space between two buildings where she could see but not be easily seen by others Carass while reporters and their ca footage with the reporter looking into the caave her report

What the hell was going on? Surely Thomas’s release wouldn’t cause this kind of uproar Local coverage, yeah Eliza would have expected that But there was a CNN creell as media personnel from Fox News In addition to the national media, there were also crews from news stations in Portland and Saleton state had crews here, San Francisco and Seattle being thefuck?

A prickle of apprehension chased away the awareness of Wade’s vigilant gaze as she took in the hubbub and the ever growing crowd gathering at the now roped off area between the street and the grassy area where the et closer so she could find out as up The last thing she needed was this much focus and awareness

This could well fuck up her one and only chance at taking Tho the bastard slip through her fingers, enabling hi women ere powerless once he had the place, she could actually feel the heat of Wade’s angry stare Could hear hiet the fuck away and not take unnecessary risks She was only doing what she’d set out to do and what she and Wade had agreed that she would do Make sure her presence was noted and not be discreet about where she was staying