Prologue
This would kill him.
It didn’t matter how much he prepared; these next thirty minutes were going to rip his heart out and pulverize it.
It was inevitable.
“We haven’t talked in a while.” She sounded equal parts accusing and uncertain.
He didn’t blame her. If he were in her shoes, he would’ve given up on himself a long time ago. She hadn’t, which made him love her even more, but her loyalty made this conversation all the harder.
He rested his forearms on his knees and clasped his hands together. He focused on the grain of the wood floors beneath his feet until it swirled in front of his eyes.
“I’ve been busy.”
“With?”
“Classes. Bar plans. That sort of thing.”
“You’ll have to do better than that.”
His head snapped up at the sharpness in her voice. Looking at her turned out to be a mistake.
His chest squeezed at the sight of her face and the hurt swimming in those beautiful brown eyes. It’d been two weeks since they were last alone together, but it may as well have been two lifetimes.
His dread mixed with a strange exhilaration at being alone with her again, and it took all of his willpower not to sweep her up in his arms and never let go.
“Tell me the truth.” Her voice softened. “You can trust me.”
It would be so easy to pretend everything was fine. To give her the reassurances she wanted to hear and go back to the way things were.
He did trust her—but the truth would shatter her.
So he did the only thing he could do: he lied.
“I’m sorry.” He wiped the emotion from his voice and funneled it into the pit of despair swirling in his stomach. Could she hear it? The panicked thump-thump-thump of his heart beating against his ribcage, screaming at him to stop? “I didn’t want to do it like this, but I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”
Farrah’s face paled. His heart beat louder.
“What?”
He swallowed hard. “It was fun while it lasted, but the year is almost over and I—I’m not interested anymore. I’m sorry.”
Liar.
“You’re lying.”
He flinched. She knew him well. Too well.
“I’m not.” He tried to sound nonchalant when all he wanted to do was fall to his knees and beg her not to leave him.
“You are. You said you loved me.”
“I lied.”
He couldn’t look her in the eyes.
Her sharp inhale twisted his heart into a painful knot.
“You’re full of shit.” Her voice quavered. “Look at you, you’re shaking.”