Chapter 373
[ 496 words ]
Chapter 373:
My breathing came unevenly as tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. “There were marks on his shoulder…” I choked out. “They must love each other so much…”
I lifted my tear-stained face to look at Frank, my thoughts spilling out incoherently. “Shouldn’t I be happy for him? I shouldn’t feel jealous, right?” My lips trembled violently. “Then why does it hurt this much?”
Frank looked down at me, pain and sympathy filling his eyes.
He didn’t interrupt. Didn’t question me. He simply wrapped his arms tightly around me and let me cry until his shirt was soaked through.
R𝘦а𝘥 𝘧𝗿𝗼𝗆 𝗒o𝘶𝘳 p𝗁𝗼𝗻е о𝗇 𝗴𝘢𝘭ոоv𝖾𝗅s.c𝗈𝗆
Frank was far too perceptive. From those fragmented words alone, he had already understood where I had gone tonight, and what I had seen there.
“Stop torturing yourself, Lianne,” he murmured, one hand gently patting my back in a steady rhythm. “If you’ve already decided to leave, then stop reopening old wounds.” His voice grew quieter. “Silas and Ruby still need you. You can’t afford to break apart now.”
By the time my tears finally slowed, I was completely drained. After an entire day without eating, mixed with anxiety and heartbreak, my stomach twisted painfully.
“Go take a hot shower first,” Frank said gently as he helped me stand upright again. There was almost a pleading softness in his eyes. “You haven’t eaten anything all day. Come have something with me, alright?”
He forced a faint smile. “Just humor me. Most problems feel smaller after a decent meal. And if one meal doesn’t fix it, maybe two will.”
Looking into his worried gaze, I swallowed back the refusal resting at the tip of my tongue.
“Okay,” I whispered.
After dinner, I ended up sitting with Frank in a small bar near the hotel. Glass after glass disappeared down my throat.
Frank barely touched his own drink. Instead, he sat quietly across from me the entire time, his warm eyes never leaving me, carrying a kind of gentle, sorrowful indulgence.
I knew why. He was afraid I would completely lose control. Afraid I would collapse drunk somewhere on the street with nobody left to take care of me. So he stayed sober just to watch over me.
By the time we left the bar, the cold night wind hit me head-on, and the alcohol surged violently through my veins.
My steps became unsteady. I leaned heavily against Frank, clutching tightly to his shirt. Over and over again, I asked him the same question. “Frank… tell me… why does it hurt so much?”
My voice trembled helplessly. “I was the one who let him go. I was the one who pushed him away…” Tears blurred my vision again. “So why do I feel like the one who got abandoned?”
Frank still said nothing. He only held me tighter, allowing me to cry against him without the slightest complaint, even when my tears and smeared makeup ruined his expensive shirt completely.
When we finally returned to the hotel, I stared at the dark, silent room beyond my door and suddenly felt terrified.
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