Chapter Nineteen: A Painful Separation

The air between them was thick with unspoken words, the weight of the truth pressing down like a storm about to break.

Camille stood with her arms crossed, her fingers digging into her skin as if holding herself together. Dominic could see it—the way she was bracing herself, the way she was fighting to keep the walls up between them.

He hated it.

"You should have told me," she said, her voice quiet but laced with something raw. "From the beginning."

Dominic exhaled sharply. "I didn't want to put more on you."

Her laugh was bitter. "More on me? You came back into our lives and didn't think I deserved to know the truth?"

His throat tightened. "I didn't want to lose what little chance I had left with you."

"Well, congratulations," she said coldly. "Because now I don't know what to do with this."

Dominic clenched his fists. He wanted to reach for her, to make her understand, but she was looking at him like she was already halfway out the door.

"I'm still here," he said, his voice low.

"For how long?" she shot back. "You didn't even tell me you were sick. What if Liam had found out another way? What if you just—" She cut herself off, pressing a hand to her forehead.

Her breath was uneven, her chest rising and falling too quickly.

Dominic took a step forward. "Camille—"

"No." She shook her head. "I can't do this."

A sharp pang hit his chest. "Can't do what?"

"This," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Letting Liam get close to you. Letting myself—"

She stopped, inhaling shakily.

Dominic felt his heart pound against his ribs.

"Letting yourself what?" he asked softly.

She turned away.

Silence stretched between them, thick with everything unsaid.

Finally, she exhaled. "I need time."

Dominic's jaw tightened.

He wanted to fight. Wanted to tell her he wasn't leaving.

But she wasn't asking him to leave.

She was asking for space.

So instead, he swallowed his frustration and gave her a slow, measured nod.

"Then I'll wait."

Camille's breath hitched, as if she hadn't expected that answer.

But he meant it.

And for now, that had to be enough.