But that didn’t happen.
He let me go, even though I could tell by the tension in his body it was the hardest thing he’d done in a long time.
Yet he did.
Because it was what I wanted.
What Ichose.
I tossed the suitcase onto the ottoman in one of the spare bedrooms and started unpacking.I folded each item with unnecessary precision — yoga pants, soft t-shirts, everything brand-new.The kind of clothes Victor never allowed me to wear.
Of course Henry would choose them.
Or have someone choose them for me.
As if he knew what I’d been forbidden and wanted to undo it.
Or maybe he just wanted to remind me who held the power now.
I still hadn’t decided which.
“You know you don’t have to stay here,” my mom said gently as she lowered herself onto the bed.“I can manage on my own.”
“I know I don’t have to.”I refolded a t-shirt that didn’t need it, careful not to meet her eyes.“Iwantto.”
For a while, only the quiet rustle of fabric filled the room, accompanied by the low hum of the HVAC.I could feel her studying me with the same scrutiny she did when I was a little girl.
“You’re not just staying here to avoid a certain green-eyed, dark-haired man, are you?”
I kept my gaze trained on the t-shirt, ignoring the teasing lilt in her voice.“Henry has nothing to do with this.”
“Ari, sweetie….,” she began in a soothing tone, “I think he does.Talk to me, baby.Tell me what’s going on.”
A breath escaped me before I could stop it, long, shaky, and full of everything I’d been holding in for the past several days.
Hell, probably for the past several years.
I never thought I’d get moments like this again.Never thought my mom would be lucid enough to ask questions, let alone see me.
But because of Henry, she was here.
Because of Henry, she was getting better.
And because of Henry, I didn’t know what to feel anymore.
One second, I wanted to hate him with every fiber of my being.The next, I wanted to throw my arms around him and jump head first into all the strange feelings he brought out of me.
“I’m so confused,” I admitted, the words tumbling out.I sank down beside her, the mattress dipping under our combined weight.
“What are you confused about?It’s obvious he cares about you.Deeply.”
I twisted a loose thread from my t-shirt around my finger until it bit into the skin.“Do you remember what I told you about how we met?”My gaze lifted to hers.
“You said he was in the right place at the right time.Someone tried to hurt you, and he intervened.”
“That’s true,” I stated.“But the reason he was in the right place at the right time is because he waswatchingme, Mama.He wanted to hurt me.To get to Victor.”
Her eyes sharpened, her posture going still.“Didhe hurt you?”
