He stared at her name, but his mind conjured Rachel's pale face after her miscarriage, her hesitant looks these past months, words she'd swallowed back.
His own tangled heart had driven her away.
On his desk sat a photo from last year's pack office gala. Rachel stood next to him, her fingers quietly tugging at his sleeve. He'd thought it childish then. Now he saw it for what it was—her cautious, tender love.
Derek grabbed the frame and hurled it at the wall. Glass shattered, and with it, he faced the truth.
Somewhere in the quiet rhythm of their days, Rachel had become part of him. That love ran so deep, he'd even fooled himself into missing it.
Derek trudged home with the bond-breaking papers, the clock ticking past midnight. The living room was lit only by a dim yellow wall lamp, ca
