Page 121 of Stroke of Fate

When my bedroom door opens, I sit up and force a smile as Pia pokes her head in.

“Hey,” she says. “Just checking in on you.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, pulling the comforter higher.

She frowns, then hops onto the bed next to me. “For what?”

“Ruining our time together. I haven’t seen you in months, and when I finally do, you have to deal with this.” I stop myself from addingagainat the end of the sentence.

I thought I knew better. I should have learned my lesson. I walked into this willingly, and now it’s blown up in my face.

“You’re not ruining anything. I’d have dropped everything back home to be here for you anyway.” She squeezes my hand gently. “Speaking of home, I changed my flight to tomorrow evening.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” I say quietly, but my body sags in relief. I don’t think I could handle seeing her go while my emotions are all over the place.

“There’s no way I could have left tonight knowing you’re dealing with this.”

“I’ll be fine.” I muster up a weak smile for her sake.

And I will be. Maybe not today or tomorrow. Maybe it’ll take months for this hole in my chest to fill. But there’ll come a day when I wake up, and it won’t hurt as much.

I’ll move forward because I have to, even if the thought of a future without Levi is soul-crushing.

“Yes, you will because you’re strong and amazing. But it’s also okay to feel sad.”

I rest my head on her shoulder. “Thank you.”

We sit in silence for a moment, and then I say the one thing I’ve been struggling to wrap my head around.

“I don’t get it, Pia. Everything was so good. I was happy and thought he was, too.” My voice cracks at the end, and my next breath is unsteady.

“I know.”

Something in her tone makes me straighten up. When I glance at her, I notice she's nibbling on her bottom lip, her telltale sign that she's debating whether or not to say something.

“Just say it,” I say, facing her fully.

She releases her bottom lip and sighs. “I don’t get it either. The entire night, he was only staring at you.” Her eyes soften. “He looked like a man in love. And then, out of nowhere, he throws it all away?”

My gaze drops to the comforter, frowning, as I take in her words. She’s right. It’s the part that confuses me, too. It’s the reason I’m still hoping there’s an explanation. One that puts everything into perspective. But then I remember the video, and that’s hard to explain away.

I lift a shoulder, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. When it comes away wet, I laugh. But it’s choppy, and there’s not a trace of humor behind it.

God, all I’ve done today is cry or stop myself from crying. I’m so tired of the tears.

“If he didn’t care in the first place, it wouldn’t be so far-fetched to think he’d throw it away.”

Sadness washes over her features at my words.

“I’m not justifying his actions, but—”

We’re interrupted by the sound of someone pounding on the front door. We share a look, and when it happens again, Pia is off the bed.

“I’ll go see who it is.” She flashes me a tight smile over her shoulder.

I nod, but my gut twists with dread and anticipation. I know who it is and why he’s here.

When Pia leaves, I kick off the comforter and rush to my small vanity desk. I pull my hair from the bun it’s been in since this morning and brush it out as quickly as possible. Retying it into a high ponytail is all I have time for.

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