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Love was light and shadow. It burned with both pleasure and pain. It was easy to ignore the bad, to bask in its light and pretend the shadows didn’t exist, but they always emerged eventually. These shadows were so dark, I wasn’t sure I’d ever find my way out, and I didn’t want Cam lost in them too. I loved this man so much that it had grown shards in my bones, fibers in my muscles, tenuous threads in my soul.

Where before everything had been luminous, now it was dark and aching.

I wanted him to be happy, and no matter what I did now, he would hurt.

“I’ll think about it, too,” I whispered because I truly didn’t know.

His jaw clenched.

I cleared my throat. “So, this is my notice. I won’t be in tomorrow.”

“No.”

My shoulders slumped. “Cam…”

“Company policy requires a two-week notice.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.” He stood. “I’m not letting you go without a fight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

More tears slipped from my eyes, but I nodded. He didn’t move, so I looked up, finding his face torn with indecision.

“Cam?”

He pulled something from his jacket pocket. Through my watery vision, I recognized a velvet bracelet box which he extended toward me.

“What is it?” I asked without taking it.

“I bought it for you. I was going to give it to you tomorrow, but—” He shrugged.

I recoiled from it. “I can’t.”

“Please just take it, Honeycutt.” He sounded tired. “I really don’t want to have to look at it.”

More tears fell. “Camden. I can’t take even more from you.”

With a tight jaw, he bent and laid the box on my lap, then kissed my cheek. “You’ve never taken. You only gave.”

With that, he walked away, and I covered my face with my hands, giving in to tears once more. After a moment, something occurred to me.

“Cam?”

He stopped at the door, but didn’t look at me.

“Will—will you please tell your mother I won’t make it to tea on Sunday?”

“No,” he said, tone like ice. “If you want to break up with my mother too, you’ll have to do that yourself.”

And then he was gone.

The house was silent for only a moment before Mama returned, tears on her face. She slipped into the space by my side and took my hand.

“Tell me I did the right thing,” I muttered.

Her lips thinned. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with thinking through all your options.”

I stared at her, taking in the expressionless face, the liquid eyes. “You don’t believe that.”