Chapter 257

  I don’t like him this way. He’s my strong, domineering Carrero, always so sure and infuriatingly confident, in control of everything.

  I can’t bear this sad quiet version of him, begging me, sitting slumped outside, and seeking permission to enter a room in his own apartment.

  This is not Jake. I want my Jake back. I want the Jake from a week ago, the one who never betrayed me and left me this way. The Jake who would move mountains to protect me; not this man sitting out there who is so far removed from the one I thought I knew.

  “I can’t. I can’t get up.” it’s true, I don’t have the strength to walk to the door. My body’s broken. I cry quietly, tears falling freely beyond my control. I can barely lift my head, so drained of life I am beyond the point of moving. Fatigue is wracking every limb with emotional exhaustion. I don’t know what time it is, but it feels like I’ve been here for days.