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"That’s for me to know, and for you to beat out of sley opened his eyes and stared out upon the ocean before hi with her lover in their garden A week since she told hio A week since he’d chosen to stay for no reason he could think of except he wasn’t ready to go back yet He’d tried to push thoughts of Juliette out of his hts of Elle had co he walked alone on the beach at sunset, a slow raain

Kingsley took a deep breath The vastness of the ocean spoke to the sub coht huuely he wondered if this was how Søren felt when he contemplated God Small Humble Unimportant and yet loved despite all that No Surely Søren never felt small or humble Not even God could husley had kept thoughts of Søren at bay They’d intruded, of course There was no escaping thehts in, let the the beach beside hisley said to the silent shadow that strolled beside hiry at you"

The shadow didn’t speak Kingsley kept walking

"With Elleit wasn’t like you and me Or you and her I had to work to love her It didn’t come easy You chose her over me and it hurt, and it will always hurt But I learned to love her despite all that, and that should tell you how close we are that I could overcoht about her, about what she could be to us But I was right, too I was right about what she is and what she needs I was right, and you didn’t listen to sley paused and faced the waters The wind blew through him and he inhaled the clean salt air The sound of the surf drowned his every word, his every breath He could hear nothing but the ocean

"And now she’s gone And it’s your fault And it’s sley pulled a length of carved bone from his pocket A broken piece of what had once been an antique riding crop

"What happened between sley said, readying himent into the ocean "You had no part of it And that’s why you were angry, no? That’s why you did what you did and made her run away from you, away from us?" He lifted his arm to throw it as far into the water as he could "Because there is a part of her that has nothing to do with you and you were"

And then Kingsley understood He lowered his arm

"And you were scared"

From behind him he heard Juliette’s voice

"Who was scared?"

20

Upstate New York

"PREGNANT?" KYRIE REPEATED "You were pregnant?"

"I was," she said

"And you"