Chapter 400 The Kiss
+25 BONUS
Chapter 400 The Kiss
Mia’s POV
“I just want you to live,” I said.
My voice sounded small. Like it was coming from very far away.
Kyle’s jaw tightened. I watched the muscle jump under his skin.
Once. Twice.
“I know,” he said.
The morning light was getting stronger through the bare windows. It made everything look washed
out.
“Is that so wrong?”
“No.” He shook his head.
He stopped. His fingers were shaking.
“It’s just not enough of a reason to hurt our kids.’
Our kids.
I looked at the photo on the mantle. At my younger face laughing at something I couldn’t remember. That Mia looked so far away from this one. So different.
“They love you,” I said. My throat was tight. “Alexander told me yesterday. He said you fixed his drone so we should try to fix you.”
Kyle’s breath caught. I heard it.
“That’s exactly why I can’t do this,” he said. “Mia.” His voice went hard. Not angry. Just final. “The answer is no.”
I turned away from him. Walked to the other window. The one that looked out on the backyard. The grass was brown and dead. The fence needed painting. Everything looked neglected.
My reflection in the glass was blurry. Indistinct. Like I was already disappearing.
“Then what do you do?” I asked, Still not looking at him. “What’s your plan? Just wait around to die?
11
“I try the Tibetan doctor’s treatment.”
1/3
Chapter 400 The Kiss
+25 BONUS
“And if it doesn’t work?”
Silence behind me. Long enough that I turned around.
He was looking at me. His eyes were too bright. Fever maybe. Or tears.
“Then I die,” he said. “And you raise them.”
My throat closed up. That feeling of something sharp lodged in there. Something that wouldn’t go down no matter how hard I swallowed.
“That’s not enough,” I said.
“It will be.”
My legs felt wrong. My hands were shaking.
The tears came before I could stop them.
I turned away fast. Didn’t want him to see. Didn’t want anyone to see.
My vision blurred. I blinked but it didn’t help. The tears just kept coming. Hot on my face. Dripping off my chin.
I walked toward the door. Fast. Not running but close.
“Mia—”
I didn’t stop.
My hand found the doorframe. I held on. Needed something solid under my fingers.
“Mia, wait—”
“I have to go.” The words came out thick. Choked.
My feet moved. One in front of the other. Through the doorway. Into the hall.
The front door was ahead. Blue paint. Peeling at the edges.
I could hear him behind me. Footsteps. Uneven. He was moving too fast for how sick he was.
I reached for the doorknob.
His hand caught my wrist.
Not hard. Just there. His fingers wrapping around. Stopping me.
I tried to pull away but he held on.
Chapter 400 The Kiss
+25 BONUS
“Kyle, let me—”
He pulled me around. Turned me to face him.
I kept my eyes down. Stared at his chest. At the hollow of his throat where his pulse jumped.
“Look at me.”
I shook my head.
His other hand came up. Touched my chin. Tilting my face up.
I closed my eyes.
I felt his breath on my face. Warm. Close.
“Mia, look at me.”
I opened my eyes.
He was right there. So close I could see the exact color of his irises. That particular shade of gray- blue that changed depending on the light.
His face was wet too. Tears tracking down his cheeks.
His thumb brushed my cheekbone. Wiping away tears that just kept coming.
His hands framed my face now. Both of them. Holding me like I was something precious. Something that might break.
“I know.” he whispered.
We stood there. His hands on my face. My hands hanging useless at my sides. Both of us crying in the hallway of a house that used to be ours.
Then he moved.
Not slow. Not careful.
He pulled me forward and his mouth found mine.
The kiss wasn’t gentle.
It was desperate. Hungry. Like he was trying to memorize the taste of me. Like this was the last time
and he knew it.
I froze.
