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She lowered her hands so that he didn’t see how o, but you didn’t feel it, did you, Max?’

He stood just an arht as well have been across the other side of the room He was still closed off, still behind that barrier of steel Those words he’d just said, the words she’d so longed to hear didn’t have a ring of truth in them

‘Just as you didn’t trust h to truly let ates of all her pain were open she couldn’t stop ‘Even when I’d shared all the darkness fro that had made me so certain that I didn’t want you in our child’s life unless you could be there all the time, every step of the way Even then, Max, you didn’t open up to h I was pregnant with your child, forcing you to face all that childhood pain and anguish again’

He stood rigid, tall and proud, see from her She wanted to pu to show him her frustration But she couldn’t, not when all around them the party seemed to have stopped, all attention turned on them

‘It was too painful, too raw to share I guess I’ve never co’ He frowned at her ‘How do you know?’

‘Angelina told entled her tone as a wave of sy tide ‘She told h decision she’d had to make’

‘Angelina?’ He frowned at her

‘She’s hurting too, Max You’re shutting her out Denying her your love’ Lisa let the truth flow fro else cas better between hiirl who’d grown up with barely a memory of her mother and a cold, distant brother she believed hated her

‘Ten ht’

The excited reoer further away roused sone needed to toast in a new year, but Lisa held Max’s gaze, iive her for saying all this here

‘We should talk about this soan to rabbed her wrist

‘Lisa, I couldn’t tell you If I did it would havelove in and love has only ever caused me pain—and loss’