Page 111 of The Moon & His Tides

They both looked at me, caught in their dramatic cinch, surprised to see me standing straight and tall.

“Get the fuck out,” I told Sebastian coldly, allowing every frozen over particle to infuse my voice. “And you will not be taking my wife with you. This is over.”

“Adam,” Sebastian said, stepping away from my wife and toward me, every feature falling to such abject despair it was beautiful.

Beautiful because helovedme.

In every universe.

And it still wasn’t enough.

I’d been a fool before to think such foolish thoughts as love conquered all.

The world wasn’t built to run on such lies.

“Go to the house and collect your things. We expect you gone by this time tomorrow when we get home.”

He stopped midway between Savannah and me, hands held up and open in benediction.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked coarsely. “You know we can get through this.”

“This is only one moment in thousands,” I corrected. “It will happen again and again, and the more we fight it, the more we confirm it. This has to end, and it will. Now.”

“An hour ago, you loved me,” he accused.

An hour from now I’ll love you still, I thought.

“Not enough,” I said.

Tears pooled in his eyes but didn’t fall. He stared at me for so long, searching for secrets I refused to tell. He was so attuned to emotion that I wondered if he could see how gross my lies were, but after a minute, he seemed to buy them.

And a tiny portion of my soul I’d never recoup broke off and crumbled to dust.

Finally, he turned slightly to look at Savannah, who stood with her hands clasped before her hips. You had to look very closely to see the way they trembled.

“Savvy,duchessa,” he said gently, holding his hand out for her. “Come with me.”

She sucked in a small breath and rolled her lips between her teeth.

She wanted to go with him. Some small but profound part of her wanted to be swept away by our teenage romantic and forget about the foundation she’d built her life and sense of self on for so many years.

Maybe when she was younger, she would have gone.

Maybe some part of me wanted her to.

“No,” she whispered.

Sebastian stepped back like he’d been shot, one hand pressing hard to his chest to stem the blood flow. His head dropped as if his spine had been cut off at the neck.

He stared at the floor for a long moment and then said, “Right. This was how it was always going to end.”

“Yes,” I said to make it easier for him. “Now, get out.”

I hoped he’d hate me, that the teeth of that rage would break apart any love left in his heart and make it easier to digest and expel.

I hoped that he’d recover from this.

He was young and beautiful and full of love so I had to believe he would.