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“I’ you a wee break so you can decide whether you want to go through life alone or open your heart and be loved I can’t h

She scra him with a teary accusation Betrayal narrowed her eyes “I knew you were going to do this eventually I told you froive up on ood enough for you I told you… I’ you’d be different”

As she made a mad dash for the door, his heart sank He ran after her and slapped his palainst the door on either side of her so she couldn’t open it “Raine, hearyou sos out You won’t have hts I’m always here to answer questions or reassure you And don’t you dare be thinking about running away But you have to search your own soul If you’re willing to do the work to be whole and e could have, co, and he could barely choke the words out “Then this is the end”

Raine stood under the hot spray of her shower, sobbing so hard she could barely take a breath For the lasther balanced and almost happy He’d treasured her in a hundred ways He’d shown her every day that he wanted her

Until today when he’d left her

Hoas she going to survive when she felt as if her chest had been torn open and everything inside yanked out with a few brutally soft words?

She reached for her favorite shampoo But it ith Liam, in his room, in his shower He also had her body wash, a bunch of her clothes…and half her heart He didn’t want that half anymore

And Hammer wouldn’t take the other half

Crossing her arms over her chest, she curled her hands under her chin and bowed her head The absence of her collar stabbed her with agony again And reainst the cold tile, she let the tears flow They ly

Liam had left her

The thought razed through her brain again Her knees buckled Another sob robbed her of breath More tears joined the cascade of water She could barely think past the pain

On autopilot, Raine shampooed her hair, scrubbed Liam’s seed from her body, washed her face, then stepped out The towel smelled like fabric softener, not Lia his musk on the damp terrycloth It made her feel safe Why hadn’t she realized that before now?

Why hadn’t she been able to tell him that she loved him when she did, so very, very much? The disappointment on his face had seared itself into her memory

Maybe it didn’t matter He’d made himself clear that he would welcome her back, but only if she was a different person Raine didn’t kno to be that

She dredged up an almost superhuman effort to slather lotion on her skin, braid her hair, and apply lip gloss Raine gave up then She just didn’t care about the rest

Leaving the stealed her way into some panties, a bra, a pair of sweatpants, and a sweatshirt Lying in one of her drawers, she fingered an old T-shirt that had been Hao She’d taken it from him and slept in it fortwenty-one and realizing that he still treated her every bit like a child, she’d tucked it away

Raine kne that his attitude had been a front…but nothing had really changed He would never love her in return Sure, he ht or two—and yes, she could run to his room and seduce him now—but she loved Hae And regardless of the hurt Liam had inflicted, she just didn’t have it in her to stab him in return

Shoving the shirt back in her drawer, Raine looked around the roo here anymore

So where did that leave her? More to the point, where did she belong? Liam had released her because she couldn’t be what he needed Haht of passion, he’d let her go for the exact same reason

Her dad had been right all along She wasn’t good enough