Hodge was stunned by her confession. Visibly sickened. He blinked a number of times as her words penetrated. ‘You are angry. You are angry and trying to hurt me.’ He swallowed audibly. ‘The woman I know, the one I chose to marry when I was barely a man, would never say those things to me.’

If she had just remained silent, said nothing, she may have been able to salvage the situation. But it was not the day for silence. ‘The woman you chose to marry? I was fifteen. The woman you fell in love with did not even exist yet. She was a figment of your imagination, a fantasy you manipulated into reality.’ She laughed. ‘And I have wasted five years of my life aiding your delusions.’

His hand met her face with full force—and she had the audacity to act surprised. She had known those words would be too much for him, but she wanted to be sure he understood her. The problem was she had never been struck before and was not prepared for the stinging skin and ringing in her ear that seemed to go on and on. She certainly was not prepared for the shame that swelled inside her or the laughter that erupted from her.

Laughter.

He did not like that.

This time, he took hold of her throat. He was so lost in his own rage and fear that he barely knew what he was doing.

And the strangest thing happened as his fingers tightened around her throat. The fight left her. She stood there, unable to breathe, with her hands at her sides. She stared him straight in the eye until her vision began to blur. The lack of response must have frightened him because he released her suddenly, as though her skin had burned his hand.

She doubled over, half coughing and half dry retching. He moved to help her, but she raised a hand to stop him. Straightening, she held her throat and tried to breathe normally. He looked down at his hand with absolute horror, as though it were a thing he was not in control of and he could barely believe what it had done.

‘My beloved,’ he whispered. ‘Are you all right?’

Her breaths continued to come in ragged bursts, and she knew speaking would only set her off coughing again. She watched him back away to the other side of the tent, swallowing repeatedly. His anger had dissolved into embarrassment.

‘I am going to fix this,’ he said quietly. ‘I need a moment, and then I am going to fix this.’ He looked to the exit. ‘There is a path back to each other, I assure you.’

She said nothing.

‘I just… I need you to stay here. I cannot be worried about you wandering away again.’ He walked over to her, removing his belt as he did so.

‘What are you doing?’ she croaked.