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Back The Progeny Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Dedication
  2. THE CENTER
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  49. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  50. Copyright

He exhales a long sigh. “How do you spring that on someone who doesn’t even know your name? Who doesn’t know if they even trust you?”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. He pulls me tighter against him in response.

“It’s not your fault, you know.”

“I found a lot of crazy stuff,” I say quietly. “Do you know what it is?”

“No,” he says. “Not all of it. And I know this is hard to understand, but I didn’t want to. You were so preoccupied trying to find a way out that even when you were with me, you weren’t with me. I felt like I’d lost you way before you went to that Center.” He lays his cheek against the top of my head.

“In the end it didn’t matter, because you did find a way. And if all went as planned, we would never need to talk about it again. But the other reason I didn’t ask for details is because I knew you had things of your mother’s. And . . . given what I came from, and how she died—or how we thought she died—you deserved to have whatever piece of her you could. Pure. Untainted by my past.”

I was right, in my letters to myself. He is gentle. And I don’t need a diamond to believe it.

Protect him.

“You’re stronger than you know,” he murmurs against my hair.

“I don’t feel strong.”

“You are. You’re the strongest person I know. Not to mention scary smart.”

I lift my head to look at him. God, he’s beautiful. I can’t imagine what this has been like for him. Were the situation reversed, it would shred my heart to see no recognition in his eyes for me.

“I left you alone,” I say. “I did it for us, I know, but I left you. And I took your friend and your lover with me. I am so sorry, Luka.”

He reaches up and covers his eyes, his expression twisting beneath his fingers.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper and clasp his face between my hands, kissing the tears that roll down his cheeks. “And I love you.”

He pulls me against him with a sob, arms locked tight around me, and buries his face against my neck.

“You’re the strong one,” I say softly. And I mean it. Because of the two of us, he is the only one who could weather what he did and survive. Even after falling in love with him again after so short a time—perhaps the greatest gift I have ever given myself—I don’t think I could go through losing him and come out alive.

And I get why he was willing to take those three years. And why I fought for more, unwilling to just survive.

Now we’ll be lucky to have even that.

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