Page 69 of Punishing His Runaway Bride

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Guard watched, mouth opened, said nothing.

Out.

Onto the street.

Sun stabbed my eyes.

Kept walking.

One step, two, three.

If I stopped, I might not keep going.

Words echoed in my ears.

"You're just a tool."

"He loves me."

"Your daughter will forget you."

Stomach flipped hard.

Stopped, grabbed a roadside tree.

Threw up.

Bile bitter in my throat, mixed with tears, splattering ground.

Straightened, kept walking.

But the world spun.

Stumbled.

Suitcase dropped.

I went down with it.

Then—

Everything went black.

Chapter Ten

Ezio

I got back to the study before dawn.

Outside the window, everything was pitch black except for the distant streetlights glowing dimly through the fog. I stood by the window and lit a cigarette, took a deep drag.

The smoke burned in my lungs, but it didn't burn away the images in my head.

Her lying in bed, turning away. Just two inches.

The way she looked at me—not angry, not crying. Something worse. Empty. Like nothing was left inside.

Fuck.

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