AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I hope.
Theo's nod is hesitant, like a man slowly sinking to his knees.“He agreed,” Theo says, referring to the man who entangled me in this web of lies and deception towards Poppy. The man is still trying to remain in the shadows. Well, consider me a flashlight because I'm going to tell Poppy who he is.
I shake my head,“I don’t needhisagreement. He needs to come out of the shadows and confess to Poppy what he’s done as well. He should take a page from my book,” I growl.
As I walk, coming shoulder to shoulder with Theo, his arm swings out across my chest, his fingers brushing the spot where the bullet hit me. It feels like a lifetime ago. Theo steps directly in front of me and then embraces me. My body wants to stiffen in response, but I force myself to relax into his hold.
I raise my other arm and return the embrace. Silence envelops us, thick with unspoken words. Is he waiting for me to break the quiet, or is the burden on me to find the right words?
Reluctance fills our touch as our fingers tighten around the fabric of each other's shirts, trying to hold onto one another. Hugging as broken adults is so much more vulnerable than hugging as scared children.
After a moment that stretches out, laden with the things we leave unsaid, I gently pull away and turn towards the door.
Theo clears his throat.“I loved someone like you do,” he admits.
Ah, yes, this elusivelovehe let slip away.
I glance over my shoulder.“No, you didn’t,” I challenge.
His sharp eyes narrow.
“If you loved someone even half as much as I love Poppy, you’d never be able to live without them.”
There, it just happened. His armor cracked.
I open the door and step a foot outside. I'm not trying to be cruel. I'm attempting to aid Theo just as he's assisted me. He's a shell, a facade hiding a shattered heart. Theo supported me in protecting the woman I love, and in return, I’ll push him to face the person he once loved.
Chapter 35
Theo
“If you loved someone even half as much as I love Poppy, you’d never be able to live without them,” Julian asserts.
The first thing I want to do is see red.
And I do. I allow the anger to sweep over me, tinting my vision with a haze of fury, letting a restlessness of emotions wash through me until they become a chaotic fuzz. I even hear a slight static buzzing in my ears. Then, the black void that has taken residence in my heart asserts itself, eclipsing everything else.
Silence.
Emptiness.
Nothing.
I am nothing without her, but she is everything without me. She is safe, protected, a nobody, just another beautiful woman who loved a prick and learned to move on.
No matter how many times my new family tells me they can keep her safe, I still refuse to get her involved in my life. It would be too selfish of me.
Julian's an asshole, but he’s both right and devastatingly wrong.
Love is different for everyone. In some men’s eyes, love means fighting. To others, it means fleeing. And in a rare few, love means surrendering—letting the person you cherish most fly free. It’s the most excruciating choice because you have to endure watching them soar without you by their side.
But I get to watch her fly. That’s a solace in its own right. Better than witnessing her wither and perish.
The door slowly clicks shut as I watch Julian depart, charging headfirst towards his love.
"I'm not living," I murmur to the lingering silence he left behind. "I’m merely surviving." And sometimes, merely surviving is enough of a victory, especially when you're doing so with a broken heart.
Chapter 36
