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His eyes burn as he steps forward "Oh yes I do I didn’t write that contract to buy a cleaning lady I did it to buy you For the next six ht and twelve, you aretears to ry I want to be strong and yell back at him but this kind of fury makes me feel very small "I aain and I instinctively shrink away He doesn’t seeainstmy cheek When he pulls me closer, I am too stunned to protest

"You are mine just as one on too long You walked away from me but when you left you took a part of me with you I haven’t been able to sleep without you walking in and out ofyour presence You’re alith me I can’t live like this anymore"

His lips feather over my forehead and the frustration I feel ether Maybe this is part of his plan, to hold s that no other e for the way I treated you I know that And you won’t believe s You deserved so much more than that So n someone else to come here so we don’t have to see each other It’s just hurting us both"

He looks down at me "If you do that I will void the contract and tie you up in court so long you’ll go bankrupt just froal fees Don’t pushto go"

"Is this really what you want? It’s not healthy for you to keep all this anger inside You have to el, I can’t move on until irl who could ditch uy and not look back But the only way that’ll happen is if I spend tio You are going to talk tosyste"

I tuckin silence We’re being driven somewhere, Finn wouldn’t tell eous car I’ve ever seen It takes all my will power not to reach out and touch all the shiny surfaces The things he said toaround my head I’ht me like a horse but even e me That he’s obsessed with me after all this time

I shouldn’t have felt such a thrill of pleasure when he said that

Finally I can’t take the silence any on the other side of the seat with his cane between us The car is so spacious it al so he can hearon this leg some days is painful" He looks atinto cars"

"I wasn’t but you were I paid attention soely soft expression on his face, like he’s re You always see" He looks away, out theto the traffic rushing past

Thinking about the past doesn’t help us, it onlyus back to the reason e’re here

"Okay so you need stuff"

"I do House stuff"

"That doesn’t tellWhat kind of stuff do you need? Couches, chairs, dining table What?"

"Honestly I don’t know The place came partially furnished and I haven’t cared to do "

His hand lands on top of the head of the cane He toys with it absently as he talks I’ain with the intense desire to knohat happened to him To hear hi can somehow erase all the tireat already just a little e area is empty It feels like a model home, not a place where so to fix"

The scenery outside has changed to a e, stately homes and well-manicured lawns We’re not in Norfolk anymore or at least not any part that I’ve ever seen The car finally slows and turns on a narrow lane A large Victorian style home appears at the end of the drive It looks like a dollhouse

"Where are we?"

"In West Haven There’s an artisan furniture store here that s I like to do is buy local If at all possible, I use local craftsuy who has been driving us opens e oak trees bordering the drive and the air is soft and cool as a kiss beneath their shade I follow Finn up the drive A soft bell tinkles overhead as we open the front door

As soon as I step over the threshold, I feel like I’ve been transported back in time