Annika stopped for a moment at the mention of his name. “No.” She continued her task.

“Aren’t you even going to fight for him?”

“I can’t fight for him if he won’t fight for himself.” Annika tried to ignore the burn of tears by focusing on folding Naya’s sari. Would the tears ever stop? “When I miscarried, it was awful. And when we heard those aunties talking like I should be grateful—” She stopped before the tears broke through. She swallowed hard. “But still, I had you and my parents and Daniel to support me. I had a counselor come to see me in the ER whom I turned to a few times for help. Daniel didn’t have that support, nor did he seek counseling to help heal. He’s buried the pain and simply functions. He’s not living. He needs to want to live and not simply exist. When and if he wants that, he’ll get help.”

“So, what, you’re just going to let him go?”

“Looks that way. It’s been over a month and I haven’t heard from him, except for the updates I get from Nilay. And those have stopped now Nilay is home.”

“Actually...” Naya looked at her with sad eyes. “Nilay told me they FaceTime almost every day.”

Of course they did. A fist wrapped itself around her heart. Daniel would not let Nilay go until he was well. He felt responsible. And he cared for Nilay.

Which was part of why she loved him. Caring about Nilay, loving her—these were proof that Daniel was perfectly capable of living and not simply existing. He just didn’t think he deserved it. And she didn’t know how to convince him.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

DANIEL

DANIEL CHECKED THE address on the card against the building number. It was the right place. It had taken him only thirty-five minutes to get to Columbia from his apartment. He dismounted his bike. No need to go in. At least he knew where the place was. He could always come back later.

What did that mean, get help? Did that mean that he would forget Sara? Because no way that could happen. He thought about the number of times he had counseled patients on getting help with any of their issues. Many would come back and thank him—though their problems never went away, they simply found a way to cope. He leaned against his bike. The little voice in his head that held all of his professional information finally spoke up. Get in there. Give it a chance. But it was the daydream of a life with Annika that he held in the front of his mind that gave him momentum.