Page 17 of The Yoga Teacher

A jolt of revulsion shot up her arm, spreading through her body like wildfire.

With a sharp inhale, Hannah yanked her ring off.

The metal scraped against her skin, leaving behind a faint red mark—a ghost of where it had lived, where it had meant something.

Her breath hitched.

She let the ring fall from her fingers.

It hit the counter with a softclink.

And somehow, after everything, it was that sound that shattered the control Hannah had been clinging to.

She clutched her stomach as though she could physically hold herself together.

But she couldn’t.

She couldn’t stop the way her body shook, wracked with wave after wave of grief so deep, soprimal, it ripped through her like a hurricane.

She sobbed. Loud, guttural,uncontrollable.

She didn’t even recognize the sounds coming from her own throat.

She had loved him.

She had trusted him.

She had given himeverything.

And Daniel had thrown it all away. Like it wasnothing. Like she was nothing.

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The sobs had quieted, but Hannah didn’t move.

She sat curled on the floor, arms wrapped around her knees, forehead resting against them. Her breathing was uneven, broken, every inhale shaky and sharp. The air in the house felt suffocating, pressing down on her like a weight she couldn’t bear.

She needed to move. She needed to dosomething.

Slowly, she lifted her head. The wedding ring still sat on the counter where she had left it.

All she felt wasemptiness.

Her gaze drifted around the room. Their home. Their life.

The couch where they’d curled up together just a few nights ago, his head in her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair.

The kitchen island where he used to wrap his arms around her waist while she cooked, pressing sleepy kisses against her neck.

The hallway that led to their bedroom. Their bed.

A fresh wave of nausea rolled through her.

He hadtouched herthere. Kissed her. Held her. Just last night, he had made love to her.Made love.

He said it was “just sex” with Sienna.

He said it had meantnothing. Did he think the same thing about making love with Hannah?

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