Words were so easily spoken. It was the pain they inflicted that made it hard to breathe. “Yeah, just dust that shit off, right?” As if it would ever be that easy.

Leo snarled. “Look, we’re trying to be here for you, but you’re making it fucking hard.”

“Leo,” Shay chastised and made her way onto the dance floor. “I made a huge mistake, and I’m incredibly sorry. I never would’ve placed Cassie in this situation if I knew. Please forgive me.”

T.J. looked away. He didn’t want to hurt her. It was the pain, the anger and the desperation making him volatile. “I can’t even forgive myself right now.”

She nodded. “Then tell me what I can do to help. I know you have to pick up your belongings on Sunday. Let me do that for you.”

To hell with that. He’d do it himself. He was becoming accustomed to seeing his wife pained beyond recognition. Nobody else deserved to experience her anguish like he did. “No, it’s okay.”

Misguided or not, these people were his friends, and he was punishing them for something that was his fault. “This is my mistake. Let’s just pretend like tonight didn’t happen.” And the years with Cassie were only a dream. “I’m going to go home. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

Silence followed him as he walked from Shot of Sin. Silence and mourning. He’d done the right thing…maybe not in the right way, but protecting Cassie from the past had been his aim, and he’d achieved that. Now all he had to do was live with the consequences.

Chapter Fifteen

Cassie spent three days in hiding. She didn’t answer the door when Jan came over, or pick up the phone when Shay called. She didn’t even turn on the television to let the outside world in.

Instead, she packed T.J.’s things. Piece by piece, she placed her husband’s belongings into empty boxes. She could’ve thrown them on the front lawn, giving him a taste of retaliation, but she wasn’t convinced he’d even care anymore. She no longer knew how he would react, or if he was even going to show up to claim what she’d packed.

She hadn’t spoken to him since she’d run from the club on Thursday night. Hours later, she’d started removing his things from her life. The process had been cathartic. Each item of clothing, pair of shoes and personal object had received a silent goodbye to the memories they held.

His wedding tux had been the hardest. She’d unzipped the clothing protector, flattened the familiar outfit on the bed and lain on top of it. With softly falling tears, she’d closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around the waist of the coat, pretending she was back there. On their special day. Speaking vows of love and commitment.

She was stronger now though. All that remained of T.J. were stacked boxes at her door. She’d blocked him from her mind. Pushed him from her heart. And would proceed to carry on with her chin held high.

But as Bear began to bark from the backyard, she wasn’t sure who she’d been kidding. This was it. There was no reason for him to come back after today. There was nothing to keep him here.

She sucked in a deep breath and yanked the front door open.

“T.J.,” she murmured.

He gave her an awkward smile. “Hi, Cass.”

She broke eye contact, unable to stand the familiar man who acted like a stranger. “I’ve packed your things and stacked the boxes inside the door. There’s a few more in the dining room.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

No, she didn’t. She owed him nothing. “I’ll leave you to it.”

He inclined his head, his face solemn as he leaned inside and grabbed the first heavy box from the stack.

He walked away with too much ease. She didn’t understand it. Couldn’t contemplate how a man who’d once claimed to love her with all his heart could find it so easy to cut ties. But she wasn’t going to think about that anymore. Nope. Not even once.

She strode for the back of the house, breathing through the pain overtaking her lungs. She refused to cry. Not after all the tears she’d shed. She was done. D-O-N-E. Or maybe it was spelt differently. More like D-A-M-A-G-E-D. She didn’t know anymore. Everything felt like varying degrees of numbness.

She hid in the spare bedroom at the rear of the house for over an hour, nestled upon the corner of the bed, her feet tucked beneath her as she stared blankly out the window. This was the furthest point in the house from him, and still the scrape of cardboard taunted her as he slowly dragged boxes of memories from her life.

“Cassie?” His call floated softly down the hall.

She remained quiet, unwilling to see him again. She had no more time for his pity. Or the pain he inflicted.

“Cassie? I’m done.”

She sighed. He was done. They were done. Everything was done.

“Okay,” she called out, unmoving. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

She held her breath, waiting for the front door to close. When the sound of his footsteps approached, echoing up the hall, her heart climbed to her throat. She pushed from the bed, scooting to the window to pretend she’d been caught staring at something fascinating as his frame came to stand in the doorway.

“I’m leaving now.”

She nodded again. Leaving here. Leaving her. “Good luck with everything.” The words burned her throat.

“Are you okay?”

His tone mocked her. Their marriage too. Of course she wasn’t okay. He shouldn’t be either.

“Peachy,” she drawled.

He approached, his broad shoulders taking up her peripheral vision. “Is there anything you want me to do while I’m here?”

Hold me. Love me. Stay. “I think you’ve done enough.”

The room fell silent, the cloying thickness of memories filling the small space. She wanted to open her mouth, to remind him of all the precious moments he’d ruined with his recent actions. He’d tainted it all. Nothing was left unscathed. She didn’t even know if anything they shared was real.

“I never wanted it to end this way.” He came to stand in front of her, cocking his hip against the windowsill. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Really?” She turned her focus to him. “I’ve never been hurt more than what you’ve put me through in the last few weeks. Three nights ago, you used my love for you against me, tied me to a bed and left me there, humiliated and more devastated than the day you arranged for a stranger to give me the divorce papers.”

“I know.” His forehead creased into a mass of tension lines. “I hate myself for what I’ve done.”

She hated him even more. And she still loved him all the same.

“Then why do it? Why tear apart everything we had?”

He glanced away, focusing out the window. He had something to say, she could see it in the strain of his features. Yet, his lips didn’t move.

“I guess you can tell Leo and Brute,” she seethed. “You just can’t tell—”

“You deserve better,” he growled.

She jerked back. “Do you think our relationship was that bad? That we couldn’t have worked through whatever this problem is together?” It seemed a vivid black-and-white scenario to her—you talked through issues and resolved them, or you kept them bottled up and slowly drowned. “Did you have that little faith in us that you couldn’t even discuss it with me?”

“No.” His tone was sharp. “Being with you was everything to me. It always will be, Cass. I just can’t risk hurting you anymore.”

The tension in his features increased. He wasn’t lying, she knew that much. “Then tell me. Explain.” She stepped forward, unable to resist his sorrow. “I know our marriage is over. We’re done. Just please tell me why.”

He reached out a hand, stroked his calloused finger along her jawline. Her skin tingled along the trail of his touch, every nerve awakening while her heart ached for more.

“I shouldn’t have come today.” He streaked his other hand down her cheek, killing her with kindness. “Going to sleep at night, knowing you hate me is the worst feeling in the world. I knew once I saw you again I’d succumb to my own selfish need to touch you.”