The tear slipped down her cheek, but she looked him in the eyes and spoke softly. “Declan. I’m sorry if this is a surprise for you, or if it’s caught you off guard. I really am. Especially after everything you did forme—”
“No.” He shook his head. “Tell me you don’t have feelings forme.”
She looked down and for a moment he thought she might look up and tell him what he wanted to hear. But when she looked up, her eyes were cold and unreadable. “It wasn’t real,” she said. “None of it was everreal.”
Her words hit him in the heart. He should have told her then that he loved her. He should have told her how he felt and how he no longer could imagine life without her. He should have told her all of that. But if she didn’t feel the same way, what was the point?
“So that’sit?”
She nodded.
Declan waited one more beat before he turned around and walkedout.