Baxt

tive instinct, primal and fierce, coursed through me. I lunged forward, snatching

oyance. "What was that for, Kylie? Relax. I was just getting the mail." He sou

ce sharp, a tremor running through it despite my a

t's the big deal? We're practically married, Kylie. We share everything. I've

st the crumbling edifice of our past. "It's mine. And ther

my scholarship, was there. I pulled out the enrollment forms, grabbed a pen from the kitchen counter, and

something unreadable. "What about my mail?" he asked, a h

er cart. "Oh, hello Jax, Kylie!" she chirped. "Just your mail today, Kylie. Noth

through with it, didn't you? You actually broke up with me." There was a trace of disbelief

ngtone, one he had assigned specifically to Cinda. He pulled i

ed. "My new kitten, he's stuck in the tree! And the fire department won't come, they

n a tree? Cinda, relax, I'm coming! Don't you dare go near that tree, you hear me? I'll be right there." He snapped h

tightening for months, finally loosened. He had chosen. And with his every hasty exit, his every dismissiv

ed systematically packing my belongings. This time, there were no tears, no dramatic declarations. Just a quiet, focused dete

Jax. A photo of him, grinning, holding a fluffy white kitten in one arm, and Cinda, beaming, in the other. The caption read:

ant and easily wounded, now felt like a scarred, impenetrable wall. He could post whatever he wanted. It meant nothing to me. Because I had finally understoo