Chapter Eleven
I’M RUNNING DOWN THEdriveway in the dark, gravel cutting into my feet because I kicked off my heels somewhere, and I don’t know where I’m going but I have to get away before I completely fall apart.
My lungs are burning.
My feet are screaming.
My heart is shattered into so many pieces I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put it back together.
I only pretended to want you so I could take your virginity.
The words chase me down the driveway, mocking me, destroying me all over again with every step.
I was so stupid.
So incredibly, pathetically stupid.
I thought he was different. I thought when he looked at me he saw something worth cherishing. I thought when he kissed me it meant something real.
But he was just like Joseph all along.
Worse than Joseph, actually, because at least Joseph never pretended to see me. He told me I was boring from the start. He never made me believe I was precious and then ripped it away.
Veil did.
Veil made me feel seen for the first time in my life and then proved it was all a lie.
What do I do, God?
I needed Him now more than ever, with tears streaming down my face so hard I can barely see where I’m going. The estate grounds stretch out endlessly in front of me, dark and unfamiliar, and somewhere ahead are the gates where Joseph is waiting and I can’t face him either, can’t face anyone, can’t—
A sound behind me.
Thunderous.
Getting louder.
Hoofbeats?
Sheer confusion has me spinning around, and that’s when my heart stutters.
Veil?
On...horseback?
Is this for real?
Riding hard toward me, his hair wild, his expression fierce and desperate and—
He’s not slowing down.
He’s going to run me over—
No.
He’s—
His arm sweeps around my waist and suddenly I’m airborne, lifted clean off the ground without him even slowing the horse, and then I’m on the saddle in front of him, his arm banded around me like iron, the horse still cantering beneath us.
