30Julian
As I watch Nora exit the room, I’m cognizant of a thick, heavy pressure in my chest. She’s trying to hide her pain, to be strong, but I can tell that what happened is ripping her apart. Her breakdown this morning was just the tip of the iceberg, and the knowledge that I’m to blame for this—that I’m to blame for everything—adds to the violent rage churning in my gut.
This is all my fault. If I hadn’t been so f*****g eager to please her, to make her happy by giving in to her every whim, none of this would’ve happened. I should’ve listened to my instincts and kept her on the estate, where nobody could’ve touched her. At the very least, I should’ve denied her request to go to that accursed club.
But I didn’t. I let myself get soft. I let my obsession with her cloud my judgment, and
