Page 99 of Coerced

“I’ll be back in five minutes, okay?”

“What?”

“I’ll be back as soon as I let the dogs out and make sure they’re all settled for the night,” he clarified.

I jerked my chin back, surprised by his reaction. “You want to come back here?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

Closure.

That’s likely what it was.

He wanted to end this, and because he was such a good guy, he didn’t want to have to rush it. So, he was going to take care of his animals and come back once he knew they were okay. He’d do that just to end things properly, to do it in a way that was respectful for both of us. I should have expected nothing less than that from him.

As much as it felt like my heart was bleeding, I knew there wasn’t a chance I could do anything to stop this. And the truth was that I shouldn’t try anyway.

Paxton deserved better than me. I’d always believed that from the start. At this point, I needed to be happy I had the time with him that I did.

So, I accepted my fate and offered him a nod. “Okay. Sure.”

A moment later, he was gone.

I wanted to crumble to the ground and cry. Instead, I closed my door and instantly felt Sasha at my feet.

The relief I felt at seeing her again was unmatched. I scooped her up and cuddled her close, finding that the tears were going to leak from my eyes anyway. And until there was a knock at my door, that was all I did. I held Sasha as tears rolled down my cheeks.

When I opened the door again, Paxton stepped inside and said, “I’m sorry about that. I went as quickly as I could.”

“It’s okay,” I murmured.

Paxton took in the sight of my face—likely all red and splotchy—and sent me a look that indicated he felt sorry for me. I hated it. I hated feeling like he pitied me.

Realizing it was late and that I could no longer hold off what was bound to happen, I walked away from the front door and into the living room, Paxton following behind me. We sat on the couch, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

So, I waited.

I waited for Paxton to say what he felt compelled to say.

He didn’t.

And all the waiting became torturous.

I hated that even more, so I decided to do something about it. I twisted my neck to look at him and urged, “You can just tell me. I know it’s coming.”

Paxton’s head dropped toward his shoulder. “Pardon?”

“Please don’t make me be the one to do this,” I begged, my voice raspy.

“Do what, exactly?”

It seemed I was going to be the one to do this. Maybe that’s what I deserved, though. I hadn’t been able to convince myself to give him the truth at any point over the last few weeks. Perhaps this was what I’d need to endure now.

“It’s over between us.”

Something changed in the air the second the words were out of my mouth. I didn’t know what exactly was happening, but I could feel the heaviness bearing down on me like a lead weight. It was all coming from Paxton.

“What did you just say?” he asked, his voice quiet but firm.