Episode 56

Naomi

I lay in the darkness, my back to Gavril, and tried not to breathe too deeply lest he notice that I was awake. I had been aware from the moment that he had walked into the bedroom, too afraid to even acknowledge his presence in fear of what he might say. I hadn’t seen him since his outburst earlier, choosing to stay in my room so that I wouldn’t cause any other turmoil between us.

We were already on thin ice, if not already trapped in cold depths that we’d never surface from.

Though I had no more tears to shed, I still hurt. It was a soul-rending hurt, like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest and thrown it away with me watching. That was what Gavril had done to me today.

It also solidified my feelings for him: I had fallen head over heels in love with a man who had barely given me anything. Had I been that naive to fall for a grin, a sexy body, an expert touch? I had thought I was smarter than that, but clearly I had fallen for it fairly easily.

Again.

I was such an idio