Page 142 of Override

No. Not pathetic.

Just...Lonely.

Eventually the tears slow. The night settles around me again, cool against my damp cheeks.

I sit there until my breathing evens out and the ache in my chest becomes something I can carry instead of something that crushes me.

Then I wipe beneath my eyes with the sleeve of my sweater and tuck my hair behind my ears.

No one is coming. Not tonight. Maybe not ever.

The realization doesn't break me this time. It hardens into something quieter. Something that feels dangerously close to acceptance.

I smooth the wrinkles from my shirt before squaring my shoulders toward the house.

Toward my marriage. Toward the life waiting on the other side of those doors.

I made vows. I meant them.

Maybe this is what love looks like after the fairy tales end. Maybe loving someone means giving away every piece of yourself until there's nothing left to lose.

If that's what it takes...Then I'll learn how.

Even if, somewhere along the way...I disappear completely.

****

Three days. Three days without music. Three days without hearing another voice unless it was absolutely necessary. Three days of waking up to silence so complete I'd started talking to myself just to remember what conversation sounded like.

I don't count the days because I want to. I count them because it's the only thing left that still belongs to me.

A knock sounds against the bedroom door. Two sharp raps. "Mrs. Gallagher."

I look up from the novel resting unopened in my lap. "Yes?"

"Mr. Gallagher asked me to let you know he'll be leaving in thirty minutes. You're to accompany him."

For a second I simply stare at the door. "...I'm leaving?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The footsteps disappear before I can ask another question. I don't move. Not immediately.

Leaving. The word feels foreign.

I stand and walk toward the window overlooking the front gardens. The gates. The trees beyond them.

For three days I'd watched the world continue without me. Now...I was going to see it again.

The thought should have made me happy. Instead...It makes my stomach hurt.

Half an hour later I stand in the foyer with my purse clutched against my side.

The silence stretches between us.

Ronan adjusts the cuff of his jacket before looking at me. "You'll ride with me." I nod. "Today's a business dinner." Another nod. "There are a few things we need to discuss before we arrive."

Something in his voice makes my pulse quicken.