Chapter 10
During the three years they were together, Xavion had never imagined he would receive a breakup message from Camryn.
When they first got together, he hadn’t thought about how long it would last three days, three months, or three years. That was as far as it went in his
mind.
There was someone he couldn’t let go of, and Camryn was merely a temporary harbor for him.
So, he had never truly invested his heart in the relationship.
Carryn’s eyes were full of hope when she talked about marriage, the tears that teetered on the edge of falling when she felt wronged.
Xavion had noticed them all but never let them bother him.
He thought he could remain heartless, treating her as nothing more than a stand–in to get him through the difficult years.
But when the person he had dreamed of finally carne back, he realized he wasn’t as cold and decisive as he imagined.
The person he should have broken up with long ago had stayed by his side, becoming the key obstacle to reuniting with Zara
Everyone around him urged him to cut ties quickly and cleanly. But he wavered, torn between his rangled past with his old love and his growing hesitance to hurt the stand–in.
Unable to make a choice, he deluded himself into thinking he could keep stalling
That was until he saw those three messages with his own eyes.
It was as though his soul had been sucked out of him. His mind went blank. It was all foggy, as if he were trapped in a dream.
He couldn’t tell whether this was a hallucination caused by oxygen deprivation or the harsh reality he now had to face.
If it was a hallucination, why did it feel so vivid?
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If it was reality, how could Camryn have broken up with him?
Camryn had pursued him for so many years, saying she would love him forever.
How could she let go so easily?
Xavion couldn’t make sense of it.
He rubbed his eyes hard and slapped his face a few times, trying to snap himself out of it. But when he looked down again, those two sentences were still staring back at him.
It was only then that Xavion realized the “hallucination” he thought he had seen was very likely reality.
He shot right up from the hospital bed. Then, his trembling fingers typed furiously on the screen.
“Camryn, can we talk? I can explain.”
“Where are you? Are you at home or with Yvette?”
He sent message alter message in rapid succession, but they disappeared into the vold without a response.
Xavion’s patience quickly wore thin
Unable to sit still any longer, he yanked the IV needle from his hand, bolted down the stairs, and drove straight home.
Yvette had only managed three hours of sleep before Xavion’s sudden arrival startled her awake.
Xavion barged into her room like a madman, shaking her awake. “Yvie, where’s Camryn?” he asked shakily. “Where did she go?”
The pent–up frustration and fury brewing inside Yvette, mixed with her grogginess from being abruptly woken, finally erupted.
She threw off the covers, stood up, and slapped Xavion hard across the face.
“You have your beloved Zara already, don’t you? Why do you still care about Camryn?”
