Page 34 of Unharmed

“Yeah, I think it’d probably be a wise idea if you left now,” he said. His tone indicated he wasn’t exactly agreeing with me so much as he was advising I get my things and get out of his house.

Horrified, I managed to hold his gaze for just a brief second or two before I returned a nod and stepped back from him. Then I went in search of my things, gathered them up in my arms, and didn’t even pull on my coat before I returned my attention to Banks.

For a brief moment I thought I was going to say something to him to… I don’t know, apologize? But there was a look on Banks’s expression that had me biting my tongue. Shit, at this point, I wasn’t sure if I had a job any longer, but I was too terrified to ask, convinced I’d made this horrible situation even worse.

So, without another word and no reaction from him to stop me from doing so, I gave Rhys one last look, felt my heart shatter into a million pieces as tears rolled down my eyes, and turned around to walk out the front door.

A moment later, I was gone.

And Banks never came after me or reached out over the phone afterward.

Then again, why would he?

It wasn’t like he knew how much I enjoyed and despised being held in his arms.

I’d assumed he was divorced, and if there was one thing I managed to figure out in the hours that passed from the second I left his house, it was that Banks was not only not divorced, but he was also still very much in love with his wife.

TEN

Lamise

I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever know anything besides loss and devastation.

It was later Saturday morning, and I still hadn’t gotten myself out of bed, because I had not an ounce of energy. I’d barely gotten a wink of sleep last night.

For weeks now, I’d had a hard time sleeping, because thoughts and questions about what happened to Graham had plagued my mind. As difficult as it had been, it made sense to me. I understood why I was losing sleep, and I accepted it, even as much as I hated it.

But this was something else.

Last night, I couldn’t stop recalling the look on Banks’s face every time I closed my eyes.

That had made it difficult enough. I didn’t need anything else.

But then I’d remember my entire week with Rhys, and the notion of sleep became something I could only hope toexperience one day. In my current state, it was an unachievable task. An impossibility.

I had no idea what was going to happen. Would I ever get to see Rhys again?

Banks hadn’t officially fired me, but it was blatantly obvious he didn’t want me around yesterday. Would he just need a few days to cool off? Was I supposed to just show up at his place on Monday morning, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready to work?

While I didn’t expect I’d get one, I was desperately hoping I’d receive a phone call from Banks before I was set to go back to work on Monday morning. I wanted anything he could possibly give me to assure me he still wanted me there. Without that, I wasn’t sure what I’d do.

Why had I been so stupid to even mention his wife?

It seemed perfectly logical at the time. I mean, I’d had myself convinced, based on all the evidence I’d gathered throughout the week, that Banks was going through a divorce.

How could I have gotten it so wrong? Worse, had I destroyed the best thing that had happened to me in months?

If I’d spent the last few minutes of my time at work yesterday wondering how I was going to get through the next two days without being able to see Rhys and believing it was the worst-case scenario, apparently, I had no idea just how bad things could get.

Granted, I had initially thought those two days would be awful, but I’d give anything to go back to that. At least I wouldn’t have been here questioning whether I still had a job and would ever see Rhys again. At least I would have had a slight bounce in my step, knowing something good was ahead of me.

Now, I had nothing.

At this point, I was content to stay in bed for the rest of the day. There was no need to torture myself further by getting up and having any expectations for the weekend. Rolling over, curling up tight with a blanket, and getting used to living in misery sounded like the perfect way to spend the next two days.

I was already off to a great start.

Of course, the moment I’d resolved myself to the fact that I’d have no choice but to accept my fate, I heard the familiar sound of my phone ringing from beside me on the bedside table.

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