He spares me a quick glance, then turns back to the dresser. “Yes.”
Anger burns in my chest.
“Were you even going to say goodbye?”
He sighs, as if I’m inconveniencing him. “No, Mayah.” His voice is tight. “I wasn’t.”
“How can you just go?” I wrap my arms around myself, as if that might protect me from the pain gripping my heart. “You can’t just leave me here.” Alone.
He shrugs. “You found your place. Your friends. You’ll be safe.”
And not my concern anymore.
“You’re a coward.” My voice cracks, tears pricking my eyes. “You’re afraid.” He just keeps packing, the stubborn man. “Iknowyou love me, Zev.”
His hand stills. He doesn’t look at me when he says, “That doesn’t mean I can be with you.”
Tides drown me. In this lifetime and in any that follow.
My heart splits open, tears slipping down my cheeks.
“I wieldedbloodfor you!” I scream. Hopelessness wraps its cold fingers around my throat. “How can you still think my heart belongs to anyone else?”
He doesn’t look at me. Just ties his bag closed.
Tides, I might faint. I squeeze my arms tighter around myself, bracing against the door.
“We’re married,” I whisper brokenly.
“Right,” he sighs again. Another inconvenience. “I’ll ask Tairna to annul it.” His voice is detached.
He’s really going to leave.
Because he’s afraid. He’s afraid to love me.
“Fine,” I snap, trying to keep my tears out of my voice. “Leave.” I fill my lungs with a deep, shuddering breath. It does nothing to ease the frantic beat of my heart, the suffocating grief gouging my throat. “I-Ihateyou.”
He freezes, a violent shudder cascading through him.
In a blink, he’s crossed the room, fingers gripping my wrist.
“Say that again.” His voice is low, desperate.
“I hate you?”
A muscle twitches in his jaw.
“Again.”
“I hate you. I hate youso much, I can’t stand—”
He kisses me.
His lips crash into mine with so much force it sends my head slamming into the door. Zev’s hand threads through my hair, gripping tightly, one arm twining around my waist.
He draws back. “Say it again,” he murmurs against my lips.
“I hate you.” It comes out breathy and soft.
