But, in the long run, it’s better to lose him now than years down the road, maybe after we’ve already started a family, when the situation will be infinitely more complicated. And painful. And sad.
I can’t remember ever feeling this sad. Not even the first time Mason ripped my heart from my chest.
“I’m sorry,” I finally whisper in a defeated voice.
“That’s it?” he asks, his breath coming faster. “You’re not even going to think about it?”
“I have thought about it.” I lift my chin, willing myself to stay strong for just a few more minutes. “It’s over, Mason. For good this time.”
He takes one stunned step back and then another, shaking his head back and forth. “Just like that,” he mutters beneath his breath, crossing to the table and snatching up the folder. “Because of some stupid piece of paper your crazy, suspicious sister found.” He draws back his arm, hurling the folder across the yard with a grunt that makes me flinch. He spins back to me, a wild look on his face. “Don’t let her do this, Lark. Her story isn’t our story. There’s no reason we can’t be happy.”
“I need you to leave.” I point toward the fence gate with one trembling arm.
I’ve never seen Mason this angry. I know he would never hurt me, but seeing him out of control is scary, especially knowing Felicity and Melody could be home any minute.
“This is insane!” He closes the distance between us so fast there’s no time for me to move away before my face is in his hands, his fingers buried in my hair as his thumbs trap my chin.
“Look at me.” He leans down until our faces are only a breath apart. “Look at me and tell me you don’t want to be together. Tell me you don’t love me, and I’ll walk out that door and never come back.”
I swallow and try to back away, but Mason has me trapped. “Let me go.” I curl my fingers around his forearms, intending to push him away. Instead, I cling to him, some primal part of me refusing to let go.
“Tell me,” Mason demands softly, his breath warm on my lips.
“You have to go, Mason,” I say, fighting the panic rising in my chest. With him so close, with his hands on me, and his skin warm beneath my fingers, it’s impossible to imagine never touching him again, never looking into his eyes or smelling his Mason smell or feeling his lips on mine.
But I have to imagine it. If I let the weak part of myself call the shots, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
“Leave,” I repeat in a firmer voice. “Now.”
“You can’t tell me you don’t love me,” Mason whispers. “Because you do, and you know we belong together. You felt it last night, the same way I did. Please,” he says, dropping his forehead to mine. “Don’t push me away. Don’t give up on us.”
“She asked you to leave.” Aria’s voice comes from the back door. “So leave. Before I call the police.”
My eyes slide to the left to find Aria standing on the top step leading down to the patio.
Mason’s hands slide from my hair as he turns to face her. “Why did you do this? Is it me you hate, or just the thought of anyone being happy when you’re not?”
“I’m not the one who lied, Mason, you are,” Aria says. “Own up to it or not, I don’t care. I just want you out of this house before my baby comes home.”
Mason glances over at me, an unspoken question in his eyes.
“You need to leave,” I whisper.
“This is crazy. This isn’t—”
“Leave,” I say. “Or I’ll call the police myself.”
He meets my gaze for a long moment before his shoulders slump and the fight goes out of his eyes. I swallow hard, refusing to think about how much it hurts to watch him give up on us, even when I’m the one demanding he do it. It doesn’t make sense, but nothing makes sense right now. My heart is howling too loud for my head to have a chance of pulling the fractured parts of me together.
“All right.” Mason nods to me, and then turns to Aria. “Congratulations. Does it feel good? Do you feel like a hero? For making two more people as miserable as you are?”
“Get out,” Aria says, a hitch in her voice that surprises me. She sounds more upset than angry.
“Good bye, Lark,” Mason says, the words raw, ragged. “I will always, always wish this had ended differently. Because I love you. More than anything in the world. And that’s the truth.”
And then he turns and walks across the lawn and out the gate leading into the front yard.
A minute later, I hear his car start and pull away down the street.