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Griff.

Jace leans in again. He licks his lips, his heavy breathing hitting my face. “I wanted to see his face when my name is the one on your lips,” Jace whispers, his lips so close to mine I fear he’s going to kiss me in front of Griff.

Griff stares at me, clearing his throat, disappointment swirling in his. “What the fuck is going on?”

“I uh…” I can’t form words. My face feels like it’s a thousand degrees as I move away from Jace. “Nothing.”

Jace chuckles again and turns toward the bed, taking a seat on it again and propping his arm up. I can’t meet his eyes. He knows he’s won. With one movement, he rips the damn IV out of his arm. “I think it’s time you two left. I’m about ready to leave this place anyways.”

I gasp at the spray of blood that splatters on the ground as the tube in his arm flops to the white tile. “Jace!” I rush toward him to place a towel over his arm, but he shakes his head.

“Leave, Abigale,” he snaps, his cold eyes on mine. “I can’t give you what you want. You two have a nice fucking life.”

Tears burn my eyes. He’s doing this on purpose. He wants to hurt me because I hurt him.

What surprises me? Jace is the one to walk out of the room, his gown open in the back and showing his bare ass to everyone as he says, “Fuck this place,” and walks out.

PartThree

You keep pulling

at the strings of my heart

Unaware it’s already

come undone.

—april green, paper wings

CHAPTER23

Lost in the silence

ABBI

What I can’t say.

The voicesaround me fade in and out.

“How many bedrooms?”

“What square footage are you looking for?”

“Room for children?”

I’ve never felt so lost in my life. Who am I?

If you tell yourself enough lies, will you eventually believe them? Smile on cue, and maybe you’ll stay a little longer. Is that how it goes? No. Not when Jace brands you with his love. He leaves you alone, empty, waiting to be filled by his touch. I think about his last words to me.

“You two have a nice fucking life. I don’t need you.”

But that ended and now I’m left searching for answers. I left the hospital that day and Griff and I haven’t talked about it since. It’s awkward, but I don’t know how to even bring it up, or if I should. What will it do at this point besides make things worse? It’s clear Jace doesn’t want me in his life any longer. And Griff’s way of punishing me? Continuing to plan the wedding as if nothing happened in that hospital room.

But it doesn’t stop my mind from obsessing over Jace and what he’s doing now.

I hear from Josie daily, and know he’s recovering and that he’s at home. Naturally Jace didn’t make it out of the hospital before the nurses talked him back into his room. Security forced him back into his room, but I’ll remember the look on his face as I turned at the elevator and his eyes found mine once more. While mine pleaded my apology silently, Jace’s cold green eyes said a firm fuck you.

I tried calling, texting, but everything goes unanswered. He won’t even talk to Josie about me.