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Jack

“I am nothing like him,” I spoke through gritted teeth, then left.

The door thudded shut. Shrugging my coat on, I let my feet guide me since my head couldn’t make decisions.

What a monumental shit show tonight had turned into.

Every protective tool and gadget had been a gesture full of love.

I’d never intentionally turned my house into a fortress, simply desperate to keep the delicate bubble of happiness penetrable from Cain’s threats.

Every single night since our perfect trip to Melrose, I’d received a notification from a motion-reactive camera, to the extent I was sure my obsession with the stupid fucking thing was leaning on unhealthy.

I could’ve booked us a holiday and wrapped Willow up in a fuzzy little love-bubble, but how long would that have lasted?

I had a job, and we simply couldn’t guarantee how long her stalker ex-boyfriend would keep it up.

Had my silence been wrong? Yes. Had I been wrong to share the limitations with my daughter and not Willow? Yes. But had I done it with the purest of intentions? Absolutely.

I’d never expected Willow to be quite so hurt, and seeing her heart crack before my eyes was devastating. I couldn’t blame her and couldn’t really blame the comparison in the heat of the moment.

Somehow, despite the whirlwind in my mind, I ended up in front of my best friend’s house. Lu opened the door, her smile dropped quickly when she saw my expression.

“Jack, is everything okay?” I remained silent, unshed tears pooling. “Come in. I’ll get Mike.” She stepped back. Instead of entering her home, I froze waiting for Mike.

Seconds later, he stepped out from the kitchen with his own smile dropping quickly.

“Shit. You look… well, shit.” I laughed bitterly, gesturing at my tear-stained face. “What the fuck’s happened?” I shook my head, wordless. “Come on, let’s get you a drink.” He ushered me into the den .

He pushed me into the chesterfield sofa, filling two glasses from a crystal decanter. I downed the contents, relishing the burn, handing the glass back until it was filled again, higher this time. After tossing that back, Mike eyed me with concern.

“Are you going to tell me what’s happened?”

“May as well. I fucked up.” I looked into my glass, willing the last half hour away.

With a deep sigh, I allowed the words to tumble from me. I shared the harsh words we’d said to one another, the well-intended limitations I’d placed on us and her accusation that I was no better than Cain.

By the time I finished, my head was against the back of the sofa, and I stared up at the ceiling.

“You’re a fucking idiot.”

“I know.”

“A real fucking idiot.”

“We’ve established that.”

“No, I don’t think you have. You saw her at the window of that house, how she’d been locked away and stripped of her freedom and you welcomed her into your home.

Despite saying you wouldn’t, you entered a relationship with her, and now that you’re scared she’ll be hurt by an ex she was strong enough to leave, you’re trying to lock her away in your house? ”

“ I know ,” I snapped, finally looking at him, guilty and frustrated.

“I know. My only justification is that I was desperately trying to keep her safe. She caught him in the garden in the middle of the night the other week, and ever since this fear has been building. I’ve been fucking terrified at the prospect of something happening to her. ”

“You didn’t tell me that,” he grumbled after a short silence.

“What?”

“You didn’t tell me he’d been in the garden. I know you’d had suspicions when you called in Scotland, but you didn’t tell he’d been in your garden . ”

“Yeah,” I murmured, “well, now you know.”

Standing, he smacked me round the head, sitting next to me.

“What is it with you? We’re practically brothers. We talk to each other and help each other out. I’ve been merrily thinking you two were just in the honeymoon period, being disgustingly cute and shagging. If I’d known you were in danger , I’d have helped.”

“I mean, we have been in a honeymoon period. We have been disgustingly cute and—”

“Shagging,” he said bluntly. I glared at him. I might have been mad, but I wasn’t going to discuss that . “Sorry,” he relented .

“We’ve been so happy. There’s a future there.

You should have seen her face tonight.” I dragged a hand down my face, staring into the empty fireplace before me.

“She was so angry and hurt, and I get it. I shouldn’t have kept her inside like a hostage.

I swear on my fucking life, it was done with the purest of intentions. ”

“I know.”

“I’m nothing like him .”

“I know.” We settled into a silence. “You can see how it would look like that though, right?”

“Yep,” I replied, annunciating the p.

“It’ll be okay.” He slapped my shoulder, standing. “You two just need some time out. You stay here, I’ll grab us some snacks. Lu has her book club in the kitchen, and I can guarantee, even on a good day you don’t want to get caught in that rabble.”

I breathed a laugh.