“Are you okay?” Daniel asks.

Lynell grits her teeth and nods.

“We’re almost there,” he says, and the car accelerates.

Unconsciousness pulls at the edges of her mind.

Her plan was to leave while he was at work. She had a small suitcase packed and placed the long letter she’d spent two hours writing that morning on Daniel’s pillow. She’d made dinner for every night that week. Everything was ready and all she had to do was . . . leave.

She stood in front of the couch, her bag at her feet, and stared at the front door, trying to work up the courage to leave.

She took a deep breath and picked up her suitcase, heading for the door.

It opened before she reached it.

“Hey, baby,” he said as he stepped inside. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He smelled so good, like winter and trees and new books. “I needed to get out of the office for a bit and I thought we could grab lunch.”

“Danny . . .” she muttered, trying to hide her suitcase behind her back.

“Work is insane today,” he said. He kicked the door shut behind him and walked into the house. “I swear, my boss likes seeing us frazzled.”

Lynell turned as he walked past her, her mind clouded by the shock of being caught before she could leave.

Daniel took off his coat and draped it over the couch. “When I get that promotion, everyone is getting a raise.” He turned to her, smiling as he looked at her face. Then his eyes traveled down to the suitcase in her hand and the smile melted.

“What are you doing?” He took a step forward, his eyes jumping from the suitcase to her feet to her face and around the house, as if looking for an answer. “Where are you going?” Fear filled his eyes. “Lyn . . .”

Lynell’s lips quivered. She managed to keep herself from crying, but her voice was still thick when she said, “I’m sorry, Danny. I can’t do it.”

“What are you talking about? Baby . . . sit down and we can talk.” He rushed to her side and grabbed her hands. The suitcase dropped to the floor.

She shook her head and looked away. “I can’t. I’m sorry. There never was a chance that I would. You know that.”

He placed his hands on the sides of her face. “You can do this. We can do this.” The panic was evident in his voice. “Please, Lyn.”

“I’ll come back, I promise. I’ll be back. In . . . in less than two weeks. I’ll come back.”

Realization dawned on Daniel’s face and he took a step back. “You can’t.”

Lynell dropped her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Danny. But this is best. For everyone.”

“No, it’s not!” Daniel yelled, causing Lynell to flinch. “You can’t do this! This isn’t just your decision.”