Page 222 of His Reckoning

Her breath catches again.

“And then you walked away from it. From the best thing you’ve ever written.”

Her eyes flicker. “You don’t know that?—”

“I do.” I nod once. “Because I read it.”

A small silence settles between us.

She shakes her head again, quieter this time. “I deceived you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I hurt you.”

“Yeah,” I say again, softer this time. “And I hurt you back.”

Her eyes fill slightly, but she doesn’t look away.

“I told you that you used me,” I continue. “That you took something that wasn’t yours.”

Hearing the words out loud makes the guilt worse.

“How did that feel?” I ask quietly.

She exhales shakily. “Like I lost you.”

The answer hits harder than anything else. I step the last inch closer. Close enough now that I can see every detail in her expression.

“Yeah,” I say softly, “that’s on me.”

A tear slips down her cheek. She doesn’t wipe it away.

“I would’ve walked away from anything for you,” she says.

“I know.”

“I did.”

“I know,” I repeat.

Her breath shakes slightly. “And you still?—”

“I didn’t know.” I hold her gaze. “I didn’t know you wrote a love story.”

Her brows pull together. “A what?”

“A love story,” I say again. “About a man you saw better than he sees himself.”

Her lips part. “But you said?—”

“I was wrong.”

The words come easier now because they’re not just words anymore. They’re truth.

“I thought you wrote something that took from me.” I shake my head slightly. “You wrote something that gave me something I hadn’t even known I was missing.”

She stares at me, still trying to catch up.