Part 2Never Fading Love

Rick hadn’t changed much. He was just as handsome, but the look he gave me was colder than I remembered.

The reunion wasn’t as awkward as I’d feared. He just stood there, silent, staring at me with that icy expression. I squeezed past him and strolled inside as if I owned the place.

“I’m broke,” I announced, my voice full of unearned confidence. “I’ll be crashing here for a while.”

I then asked the housekeeper to take my bags upstairs. Rick didn’t move from the doorway.

“Get out.”

I made myself comfortable on the sofa, poured a glass of water, and waved a dismissive hand at him. “Don’t be so stingy. It’s not like you’ve remarried. I won’t get in your way.”

That was a lie. I was here specifically to get in his way. I didn’t know why he hadn’t married his secretary yet, but I was going to make sure he never did.

Rick, for all his faults, was a gentleman. As long as I was shameless enough, he wouldn’t physically throw me out.

And so, I successfully moved back in.

He worked in his study late into the night. When he finally came to bed, freshly showered, his arm brushed against mine. He flinched as if he’d been burned.

In less than a second, he had rolled over and pinned me to the mattress, his body a dead weight on top of mine. His eyes were narrowed to slits, the words ground out between his teeth.

“Lara, you are playing with fire.”

I let him hold my wrists, my body going limp against the soft mattress. “I’m used to this bed. I can’t sleep anywhere else.”

A bitter, humorless laugh escaped him. His handsome features twisted into a sneer as he leaned close to my ear. “So you haven’t slept in three years?”

My, my. A few years apart, and even the emotionally stunted Rick Hayes had learned sarcasm. Must be the influence of his cheerful little secretary.

Unsurprisingly, he grabbed me by the collar and tossed me out of the room. He even threw my slippers out after me.

Such a temper.

I sat on the floor for a moment, looking at the dark bruises already forming on my wrist. I zoned out for a second. He hadn’t actually used much force. It was just the medication—it made my body more fragile than a normal person’s.

I stood up, dusting myself off, a pang of regret hitting me. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed him so hard.

I only had a month left. I hoped it would be enough time.