Page 24 of One Forbidden Moment
She stood in the canned goods aisle, holding a mop in both hands.A puddle of water spread slowly across the floor, creeping toward the shelves.She wasn't moving.She wasn't cleaning.She was staring at the water like she didn't understand how it got there.
His approach must've startled her, because she flinched and turned her face away, her shoulders tightening.But not before he spotted the way her breath hitched and the shine of tears on her cheeks.
He stepped behind her, gently but firmly turning her toward him.She kept her head down, her hair falling like a curtain to hide her face.He slid his hands up, cupping her cheeks, his thumbs brushing the wetness from her skin.
She inhaled swiftly, but she didn't pull away.
There was no reason to ask what was wrong.She'd spilled her heart to him on the bike.Shared her fears, her loss, and how he'd ripped every piece of her life from her.He didn't understand the depth of emotions that pained her.Didn't understand how someone could love that hard or hurt that deep.He didn't know what it meant to have someone worth missing.
But he knew Copper was right.
She was breaking, and it was his fault.
Her breath trembled against his palms.She blinked up at him, eyes red, lashes wet.She looked exhausted.Hollow.As if his choices had pulled her soul into the same darkness rising through Everstill.
He wiped another tear with his thumb, slow and careful.She closed her eyes at the touch, not leaning in, not leaning away.She stood there, caught between collapse and endurance.
He didn't know how to fix her.
But he knew he had to do something.
He let his hands fall from her face.Yet he stayed close, close enough that she could feel his presence, his steadiness, the weight of his decision forming in the quiet space between them.
Copper's words echoed in his head.
Storms come and go, Moe.And when the next one hits, you better know what you're willing to lose.
He looked at Jillian, and for the first time, he understood exactly what Copper meant.
He had to let her go, or he was going to destroy her.
Chapter 11
Jillian
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