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Impatience flashes in his dark gaze. "Then do you have any suggestions?"

Fall in love with me, I wish I could say, so we don’t have to divorce in the first place.

But thankfully, the words don’t leave my brain this time.

“Have you even planned this out?”

And another thing I’m grateful for is how I’m still standing, despite the razor-sharp edge of his tone. He’s never spoken to me like this before. Never.

“You never even finished college. How do you plan on finding a job?”

“I’m s-sorry⁠—”

“Apologies aren’t plans!”

I can’t help flinching at the way he snaps at me, and for one moment it feels like I’ve traveled back in time, and it’s Joel yelling at me to shut up.

Ruel’s jaw clenches. “I’m sorry.”

All I can do is look at him. I just can’t…I just can’t speak. I feel like I’m back to being my old self, and it’s just better to keep my mouth shut.

“That was uncalled for.”

“It’s fine⁠—”

“It’s not⁠—”

Ruel whitens, and it’s all my fault.

When he raised his voice like that, I just…I just couldn’t help it.

I want to keep my dignity, but instead all I’ve earned is his pity when my tears start to fall.

“Karyna—”

He tries to reach for me, but I stumble back.

“I’m sorry,” he grits out.

I want to tell him he has nothing to apologize for.

That this is all my fault, not his.

“I didn’t mean to raise my voice like that.”

But I just can’t, with my throat all clogged up with tears, and my body shaking so bad it’s as if my pain has turned into a personal earthquake.

“Or snap at you.”

Oh, Ruel.

"Tell me how to make it up to you."

He’s just so honorable.

And that just makes it so, so much harder for me because I’m not as honorable as him.

"Let me just help you," he urges tautly.