31. You Want Me

AURELIA

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I left the room I shared with my kids and Hazel because I was overwhelmed by raw emotions that threatened to tear me open even though my kids were sleeping peacefully in between Hazel and me.

I came deep into the forest because I needed to be alone not so I could run into a jackass who had grown nosy with the years.

“Stay back!” I repeated those words when Raiden took another step closer to me.

I’d have taken a thousand steps away from him if there wasn’t a body of water behind me. He was closing in on me and had me cornered. I wiped my face angrily, refusing to appear weak before someone like him.

“Stay the hell back, Raiden. I’m warning you.” I barked at him, tears threatening to spill out of my swollen eyes once again.

“How do you expect me to stay back when you have obviously been crying, Aurelia?” Raiden asked like he actually had a heart. “What’s wrong?”

I chuckled, unable to believe his audacity. He must think I was still dumb. “The same way you stayed