But now?
Now she’s brighter.
Stronger.
And I hate that I wasn’t there to see it happen.
To shape it.
To guide her.
Because she needed that.
She always did.
She just didn’t realize it.
Women rarely know what they need.
And him—my lip curls.
He’s there.
That fucking cowboy.
That mistake.
That problem I was so close to getting rid of for the two of us.
Of course, he’s there.
Standing too close.
Touching her like he has a right to it.
Looking at her like she belongs to him.
Like he won.
My teeth grind together.
After everything I did—after everything I showed him—he still came back.
Like a pathetic puppy.
And she let him in. She let him touch her.
Like a dirty little whore.
Because she’s weak like that.
A slut.
Easily straying.
Easily confused.
But I can fix that.
