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"Do you truly believe I'm worth giving up your entire life for?"
In my mind, I had already drafted the resignation. I looked at Gray incredulously. I knew his past concerning dating and women. But this…
Instinctively, I pressed my hand against his chest. "Of course you're worth it. In my eyes, you'll always be worth it. Do you think I would have followed a stranger into the wilderness and stayed if it weren't for that?"
"And yet I've pushed you away time and again, and… it didn't drive you away." Was he recalling all the times I had hinted at something that he either ignored or dismissed?
"Come on. It's not wrong that I, too, put in some effort. Even if it sometimes broke my heart… it's all worth it, right?" I made a sweeping gesture that encompassed not just him and me but everything. The past, the present, the future. Because if we had a future together, it surely wouldn't always be smooth sailing. "If you had just mentioned once what doubts you were wrestling with, I could have cleared them up much earlier. And now, please tell me that you still don't want to send me away."
All this time I had been speaking, studying how his expression changed, but now I fell silent, giving Gray the space he needed. Seconds stretched on, during which he said nothing.
"Look at us. You want me to leave. And yet I never wanted anyone more than I want you. To hell with what anyone else says! This isn't their relationship and certainly not their decision!" I continued to speak, even though I shouldn't have. It wasn't wise to press him further, but I couldn't stand the feeling that everything was slipping through my fingers.
Nervousness bubbled through my veins, leading me to bite my tongue. I couldn't just calmly wait for him to say something.
"If you need time… I'll wait."
"Yes…" His gaze drifted over my face, then over me. "Time," he murmured before he stepped back.
Honestly, I hadn't expected him to leave me standing there. Alone. Uncertain. But that's exactly what Gray did. He wrapped himself in silence, retreated, and disappeared through the door he had just entered from.
First, he had wanted to send me away, and now, he was the one leaving—without an explanation or any hint of whether he would come back later.
I took several steps back until I hit the wall. The impact knocked the breath out of me. At least I still felt something in my body as the sharp pain that shot through my spine reminded me.
I blinked several times, hoping that the last few minutes would turn out to be a figment of my vivid imagination. But they were not.
This had all really happened.
George had appeared and, with his words, had swiftly attacked and destroyed something that Gray and I had been working on for weeks.
Where I had believed that we had built our relationship on solid foundations, cracks had now appeared.
Everything in me wanted to believe that Gray would return, take me in his arms, and assure me that I should just forget about that afternoon.
But the door did not open again.
Not after a few minutes.
And not after several hours that I spent tensely on the couch. I wanted to have hope; I really did. But his behavior, the silence, and the way he had disappeared made me fear the worst.
30
GRAY
“So tell me again, what exactly are you doing here?" Wilder demanded to know, slamming a glass of water down in front of me on the counter. He refused to serve the alcohol I had asked for, and unfortunately, I understood all too well why he was holding back.
I didn't remember everything Amelia had said, but details of it had seared into my memory and wouldn't let go. All along, I had told myself that I was keeping her at arm's length for her own protection. She had just been cheated on, came from an obviously dysfunctional relationship, and had other problems than someone setting romantic expectations. But the truth was that this protection mechanism was for me.
After I had told her that she should use me as she needed, it had also become clear to me that it could be painful—more so with each day we spent together.
Now, her ex had shown up, and instead of falling for his charms, she took a clear stand. She ignored the insults he hurled at her. And then she assured me so convincingly that it was only about me, and suddenly, I didn't know how I was supposed to function anymore.
What I had secretly hoped for became reality, and I couldn't handle it. Not in that moment as she stood before me and revealed what was in her heart.
So I did the only right thing and sought distance to sort my thoughts and figure out how to cope. What I wanted was obvious. What I needed was too. She laid it out for me on a silver platter, yet instead of just seizing it and taking what she offered, I hesitated. And I walked away.
It wasn't just her words that had burnt into my memory but also those of her ex-boyfriend, who had quite plainly stated what he thought. Clearly, since his arrival in Wolf Creek, he had put two and two together and also had a brief chat with Sergeant Williams, who had spilled our details to him.
