Jennifer’s POV
The storm refused to ease.
Thunder growled above the cottage like some restless beast, rattling the glass in the windowpanes, hissing through the cracks of the door. Every time lightning split the sky, it painted Jack in pale firelight — and every time, my chest ached with the reminder of what I had said.
Hypocrisy.
The word hung between us still, thick and barbed, though he hadn’t challenged it. He hadn’t denied it. He hadn’t even spoken again.
I sat curled on the couch with a blanket around my shoulders, pretending to be absorbed by the fire I had stoked earlier, though really, I was aware of nothing but him. Jack. Standing near the hearth, his arms crossed over his chest, silent as stone. The firelight clung to him, gilding the edges of his damp hair, picking out the
