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His expletive punctured the silence around theive a da Raphael said or believed could be any worse

There was a strange strength in the fact that she’d already been through the worst

“So you’re as naive and meek as you look? How could you trust anyyou have?”

She flinched as if he’d slapped her Tight lines eht flickered on her delicate jawline that was clenched taut

Raphael killed the thread of regret that hit hi to coddle her

She looked down at her hands and then around her When she spoke, her voice had lost that husky ti herself to say the words Just for his benefit

“I was lost, lonely after Nonni passed away I hardly had any friends after being her full-ti, attractive He singled me out almost immediately after I went back to work He even didto me that he had done his research and picked iven hih ammunition”

Even as he’d cruelly called her weak, she was anything but in that uts to pull yourself up when everything was lost And yet, she’d not only done it, but she was facing him down too “How?”

“They told hiht I needed to start living now that Nonni had passed away They told hirateful for his attention” When he growled, she hurried on “I think they meant well They couldn’t have known he would prey on all my insecurities”

“Thisyou here?”

“No” Conviction resonated in her tone “When he realized I didn’t have anyit very clear that the only reason he’d been with me was because I was such a pushover”

“So you didn’t tell hiination? No surprise visit fros a little ured out that Gio’s an old fool ould love to see a little romance?”