Chapter 77

How did Duke manage to do this to me? Despite my resolve not to ever visit my father during my stay here, I soon found myself freshly showered, in clean clothes and stood outside my dad's room.

I took a deep breath to steady my breathing, feeling the lightheadedness and sweaty palms that indicated the beginning of a panic and attack and turned my frantic eyes in Duke's direction

"I don't know if I can do this - I know we promised not to talk about it, I know, but I can't walk in there, not after everything that happened!" My arms were flailing wildly as I spoke, my words coming out in a jumbled mess.

Duke grabbed my hands and placed them on his chest, allowing me to feel his strong, steady heartbeat beneath his clothes. "Breath, Grace. I'm right here. I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. We'll do this together."

I closed my eyes and took a moment, timing my breathing based on his, following the rise and fall of his chest. My head was ready to explode, m