She got up from the sofa. As she passed by me, I grabbed her hand to stop her, but she made a violent twist to shrug me away. “Don’t touch me! Keep your hands off me!”

“Tai, I’m sorry. I wish I could make sense of this for you.”

“But you can’t.”

“No. The only thing I can tell you is that I am not a killer.”

Tai’s mouth pinched into a frown. Her eyes made it clear that she didn’t believe me.

“Who were you having sex with last night?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who were you screwing in our bed last night, Dylan? Because it wasn’t me. You were thinking of someone else, I could tell. Was it this girl at Northwestern?”

“Tai, please. This is all messed up.”

“Yes, it is. It’s very messed up. Sleep on the sofa tonight. I don’t want you anywhere near me.”

“Whatever you want. But I swear to you, you have nothing to fear from me.”

Tai walked away. At the fireplace, she stopped and studied our wedding photo, then reached up and turned it facedown on the mantel. “I have nothing to fear from my husband,” she told me. “You’re not the man I married.”

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 22

The next day, I found Karly back in the coffee shop at Northwestern.

I had a decision to make. Talk to her, or let her go. I knew I couldn’t get what I wanted from this world. I’d never have Karly back in my life forever. The walls were closing in on me, and soon I’d have to leave. But she was here now. Even a few minutes with her were more than I’d thought I would ever have again.

I walked over to her table.

“Karly?”

She brushed her hair from her blue eyes and looked up at me. Her gaze was far away. I’d distracted her in the midst of a thought. “Yes?”

“You are Karly Chance, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

I tried to be myself and not to choke on my words. “I’m sure you won’t remember, but we went out on a date a long time ago.”

She gave me a smile. It wasn’t a Karly smile, but a smile of polite disinterest. “Did we? I’m sorry, but you’re right. I don’t remember.”

I shook off the blow to my ego and replied with a joke. “Don’t worry about it. It went so well you’ve probably blocked out the entire experience.”