Page 86 of Penny & Royce

Then he stood, turning away from her with both hands in his hair. “No!” he snapped.

Her eyes widened.

Royce had never, not once, raised his voice to her. Even when he’d been upset with her, he’d used logic and control in speaking to her. Of course, she’d known he was capable of losing his cool. He’d been yelling at his brother, hadn’t he?

But with her?

Never. But the truth was, they hadn’t been together long enough for that side of him to show.

Royce paced the small room, his hands still in his hair. He stopped suddenly and looked at her, his voice rough but no longer loud. ““I won’t let you do it. Not to me. Not to us.”

She closed her eyes once more and took a deep breath as she wrapped her arms around her bent knees. “This isn’t up to you.”

“It’s not only up to you either.” His voice broke on the words. “We’re married, Penny. We made vows. We promised each other—and God—that we would stand by one another through everything. Not just when it was easy. Not just when our families approved. Better or worse. Richer or poorer. Sickness and health.”

He moved toward her, and she braced herself, but he only dropped to his knees before her.

Finally, his voice lowered to a whisper.

“I’m not leaving you. You’re everything to me.”

Penny pressed her lips together and looked away. Anywhere but at the man whose eyes were rimmed red from his own emotions. She couldn’t bear to see him uncertain like this. He’d always been a rock, knowing what he wanted.

But sometimes reality had to settle in, and people were blinded to it until someone else showed them the truth.

She swallowed down the bile that attempted to make a reappearance. Her eyes locked on the light fixture so she could utter the words that needed to be said.

“We can get an annulment.”

The room temperature felt like it dropped ten degrees all at once.

Goosebumps lifted on her arms, and everything went still. She couldn’t even hear Royce’s ragged breathing. It was onlythat realization that had her turning her head so she could look at him again.

He was gripping the edge of the couch cushions so tightly, his fingertips had turned white. It was a strange combination, the raw anguish and utter heartbreak she read in his eyes. She was paralyzed by it, unable to find her voice.

Royce had never been someone she was afraid of, and now was no different.

But there was fear.

Penny was terrified she would never be the same. Not after experiencing what it was like to be loved so openly by the man kneeling before her. She wanted to take her words back, swallow them down, and beg Royce to forgive her for thinking such a thing. She wanted to find another way they could all be happy together—where each day wasn’t a fight to keep her nerves in check.

But she wouldn’t.

Deep down, she believed Royce needed this push to realize that family was more important than a love as new as theirs. They were lying to themselves if they believed those roots were strong enough to survive the forces at play in their lives.

Slowly, Royce stood.

She watched him warily as he headed for their room.

The silence was even more unnerving than his outbursts. It was only when he emerged from their room with a duffel bag that she shot to unsteady feet.

She nearly opened her mouth to ask him to stay.

At least for breakfast.

Instead, she clenched her jaw tight.

This was what she’d said she wanted.