Ben’s forehead creases, somewhat amused by her weirdness. ‘Yeah, not the word I was thinking.’

Darcy sighs, letting her body slide down the wall and onto the floor. She knows she should be racing back to the edit suites to review the footage and figure out what angle to take, but she just has to have a moment …

‘Fuck!’

Chapter 55

55

The room is silent. The crew vanished quickly, all equipment still set up. Penny remains in the chair, as though she’s still on set, but Ty can’t stop moving which only adds to the tension. She’s filled with regret. She shouldn’t have said anything.

‘How long have you got?’

She knows what he’s asking. ‘Maybe six months.’

His body flinches, her words like a bullet to his heart.

She feels like she should comfort him but fears she’ll only make things worse.

‘Have you had treatment?’

She shakes her head. Her mother and sister had both tried that. They’d spent their last days battling for more. After her sister died, she vowed to herself that if she ever got the cancer diagnosis she’d just enjoy the days she had left.

‘And I guess I’m not going to be able to convince you otherwise?’

She shakes her head again. She won’t be talked around. Lara had tried, arriving breathless at Penelope’s unit one morning, her arms full of pamphlets and information on treatment options.

Ty slumps into the chair beside her. She can see him letting the truth sink in—that she left him because she’s dying, not because she didn’t love him. She hopes he can find some comfort in that.

‘So, what have you been doing?’ he asks finally.

‘I’m living down the coast. Just trying to be kind to myself.’ She meets his eye and sighs with relief. ‘Reading, yoga, beach walks.’

‘I could have been there with you.’ He reaches out and takes her hand.

Penny closes her eyes as her body soaks in his love. She wants to let herself relax with images of him by her side, but forces herself to shake them away. She promised herself she’d protect him. ‘I want you to be happy, Ty. I hope you’ll let yourself find love with one of the girls left on the show.’ That was just a snippet of what she was supposed to say instead of telling him she has cancer.

He’s so shocked that she’s said this to him that his mouth gapes for a moment before he speaks. ‘You want me to be with one of those girls?’ He shakes his head. ‘I don’t love them. I love you.’