“Hey,” he said firmly enough that my head snapped up. “As a father myself, there’s nothing in this world that would make me not love my children with my whole heart.”
“You’re right,” I conceded. My dad had never given me any reason to doubt his love for me, even on my worst day.
“Let’s get you home. It’s been a long night.” Standing, he held out his hand to help me up.
Letting him guide me down the brightly lit hospital corridors, I glanced over my shoulder, certain the shattered fragments of my broken heart left a trail behind me as I walked.
Was there a version of my pathetic self in every city? Was I now part of a not-so-exclusive club of women whom Cal Berg had led to believe meant something more?
We were nothing more than sex dolls for his use, apparently.
I’d never felt so cheap, and I had participated in my fair share of one-night stands.
I thought he was different, but I was so very wrong.
“Hannah? It’s me.” Natalie’s voice rang out through my tiny apartment.
Pulling the covers over my head, I didn’t bother answering her. She would find me—this place was small enough that it wouldn’t take her long.
My mood wasn’t suitable for company. Jaxon had dropped me off as the sun was beginning to rise over downtown Hartford and I still hadn’t slept, even though it was nearing noon.
I was a broken shell of a woman.
Cal did this to me, casting me aside like another one of his bimbos.
It took everything in my power to breathe with the feeling of a two-ton elephant sitting on my chest.
There was an empty space in my chest where my heart used to reside, having been ripped out in that hospital room. The irony wasn’t lost on me that the very place people went to have their bodies fixed was where mine was broken beyond repair.
The sound of the bedroom door creaking open reached my ears, and the mattress dipped as Natalie sat down. Peeling back the comforter, her face sympathetic as she whispered, “Oh, Hannah.”
Scrunching my face up, I tried desperately to stop the tears, but it was no use. Laying down in bed with me, Natalie pulled me close and let me cry. How hadn’t I run out of tears yet? How long was this going to hurt?
I would give anything to make it all go away, to forget the past six months.
“I’m so stupid for thinking he wanted someone like me,” I sobbed.
Natalie pushed the hair out of my eyes. “No, you’re not. You saw a chance at happiness, and you took it. Any man would be lucky to have you.”
“You’re only saying that because you’re my friend.” Sniffling, I wiped the back of my hand to clear my running nose.
Pausing in a moment of reflection, Natalie said softly, “Did you know I’ve always been envious of you?”
My puffy eyes widened in shock.
Natalie? Envious of me?
She had it all. She was pretty and smart, polite and proper. Everyone loved her—she didn’t have to try.
If anything, I was the one who was envious of her. Especially these past few years when she settled down with Jaxon. She had what I thought I wanted.
Turned out, that idea was better than the reality.
Sensing my disbelief, she continued, “You heard me right. You’ve always known exactly who you are, and you don’t apologize for it. And God, your independence? I could only dream of having the chance to stand on my own two feet. I was never granted the opportunity. There are days when I don’t feel like I grew up. Someone has always taken care of me. My life is a glorified game of playing house.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “Do you know what I would give to have what you have with Jaxon?” Blowing out a shaky breath, I added, “I thought I had that with Cal.”
“I thought you did too, honey. I saw the way he looked at you. It was powerful enough that I was sure you two were gonna get caught.”
