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“Nora?”

“Yeah?”

“Jude deserves an explanation.”

I close my eyes.

“I know.”

“That man is...” She sighs. “He’s a good man.”

“I know. He’s...”

I shake my head against the pillow.

“He’s... I didn’t know.”

“Know what?”

I stare into the darkness.

“I didn’t know how much of himself he was giving me.”

Silence.

“Oh wow.”

I turn toward her.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Chiara.”

“Nothing.”

I groan and bury my face in the pillow.

“And now I’ll have to break his heart.”

“Oh... shit.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not ready?”

I search myself for the answer, digging through my heart and every confused part of me, but there’s nothing there that makes any of this clearer.

“I...” I swallow. “I don’t know.”

“Okay.”

“I hate myself.”

Chiara immediately turns toward me and pulls me into her arms.

“No. None of that.”