I know she’s right, but I couldn’t, and this is the result now.
“I’m sorry, Nora.” There’s a moment of silence, but then I continue. “Isabella is still at large. I’ll make sure you’re protected day and night until she’s behind bars. That’s the least I can do for you now,” I say coldly.
“What do you mean by that last sentence, Andreas?” I see the panic in her eyes.
There’s no easy way to do this.
“I’ve already caused enough damage, Nora. You need to let me go. I’m grateful for the time we had together—it’s more than I ever dared to dream of—but I warned you, and everything I feared has come true. I couldn’t make you happy for more than three days. First Noah, and now this, I don’t deserve you, and now you know why. You deserve better. Someone you can really count on, someone who isn’t as messed up as I am. I have control issues. Sometimes it’s downright obsessive. I overthink until I work it out through exercise or sex. I’ve been empty inside since I lost my brother, and maybe even long before that. You don’t want this, Nora, really. The outside might be appealing, but the inside is rotten.” Tears stream down Nora’s cheeks. I hate seeing her like this, but I have to be strong, or we’ll give in to each other again, and that can’t happen this time. “I’m letting you go. I should have done it much sooner. I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you, but I did it in every possible way.”
I hate this. I hate having to do this. I feel my heart shatter into pieces and know that I’m inevitably breaking hers too, but it’s the only way to protect her.
“No, Andreas, don’t do that. I don’t understand. You know I choose you—inside and out. What Noah did, or Isabella, that doesn’t change how I feel. You hurt me by not trusting me, not choosing us, by lying, but not by who you are or what you’ve been through.” She sobs, and I can feel the desperation in her eyes, but I can’t give in.
“What’s going on here?” A nurse enters the room, glancing at Nora’s tear-streaked face and then glaring at me. “This lady needs rest, and this…” She gestures with a circular motion toward Nora, “isn’t what we mean by that. It’s time for you to leave, sir.”
I look at Nora and apologize again. She turns away from me, continuing to cry. The sight of her like this breaks my heart, but I leave the room knowing it’s for the best.
Chapter 16
Nora
Lying in a hospital bed, crying with a dislocated shoulder and a broken heart, wasn’t on my life’s bingo card. Meeting a man like Andreas probably wasn’t either. I didn’t even know a man like that, sex like that, or feelings like that existed, let alone that I’d put them on my card. The little devil on my shoulder whispered that it was too good to be true, but I let myself be drawn in. I fell hopelessly in love, giving him my whole heart on a platter. Now, he refuses to take it again, and it hurts more than I can describe. Before we even got started, he’s already tearing us apart.
Somewhere among the shattered remnants of my heart, there’s still a flicker of hope whispers that he’s doing this because he really cares about me. The little devil insists that hope is a dangerous and treacherous creature. I hate that Andreas lied—or at least kept the truth from me. His inability to trust or communicate honestly has become a serious problem. The fact that he walked away from us at the first sign of difficulty hurts more than my shoulder. If his love for me wasn’t strong enough, or never truly existed, then this really is the end. The thought alone brings a fresh wave of tears that keep me company for the rest of the afternoon.
“Nora!” Anna’s voice breaks through my endless cycle of anxious thoughts.
I wipe the tears from my cheek and turn around. I see her and Dennis entering the room.
“Dennis, Anna, I didn’t think you’d be here so soon.” I had only sent them a message half an hour ago to let them know I was in the hospital.
“Of course we’re here! If Melvin hadn’t been away for work, I’d have been here even faster. Luckily, Dennis could pick me up.”
Anna looks at me with concern in her wide eyes. She shouldn’t worry so much about me. That can’t be good for the baby.
“What happened? Who did this?” Dennis chimes in.
He clearly isn’t in the mood for small talk. I know he won’t want to hear any of this, but I decide to be honest. I give them the abridged and sanitized version of the story about Isabella—her past with Andreas, her jealousy, and ultimately her attack. Anna sits down on the chair, while Dennis paces the small hospital room like a caged lion. I tell them about my shoulder, the diagnosis, and the prognosis for recovery. I try to reassure them, but the fear in their eyes is hard to shake.
“I assume Andreas has already been here today?” Dennis asks, his voice tight.
“Yes, he stopped by,” I sob.
I can’t stop my eyes from welling up and my lower lip from trembling. My emotions are committing high treason. I can’t blame them. They’ve been on a rollercoaster for the past twenty-four hours, so I have little resistance left to keep them in check.
“Nora, what aren’t you telling us?” Dennis has little sympathy for my fragile state and demands an explanation. Anna watches tensely but doesn’t protest. She undoubtedly wants to know exactly what’s going on between Andreas and me too.
“Andreas and I were in Zeebrugge this weekend. I honestly told him how I feel about him, and we decided to go for it together. You know, as a couple.” I leave out the whole Noah situation to prevent Anna from going into labor and Dennis from having a heart attack. I give a weak laugh. Unlike them, I already know this story doesn’t have a happy ending. “Andreas feels incredibly guilty because of what happened and thinks I’m better off without him.”
I didn’t think I had any tears left, but apparently, I do.
“You are indeed better off without him,” Dennis grumbles.
“Dennis, you can’t say that. You don’t know him,” Anna surprisingly jumps to his defense.
“And you do? Every time I run into him, problems seem to follow. Look at Nora, clearly he’s not good for her.”
Dennis’s concern always warms my heart, but I don’t like how he’s talking about Andreas. Andreas was so good to me.
