Reba froze. Jeffrey’s words hit her like a physical blow.


    55 vouchers


    “I’m sorry,” she said. Thinking back on her own sharp words, she felt a pang of guilt. She had been cruel.


    “I don’t need your apology,” Jeffrey said, his eyes never leaving her. “I want you back. Juste back, and I’ll put up with anything. You could say the most hurtful things to me every single day, and I wouldn’t mind.”


    A suffocating pressure tightened in her chest. Jeffrey’s love was all–consuming. His indulgence was absolute. And his cruelty was unforgiving.


    The elevator doors slid open, and Jeffrey led her to his suite. An ufortable silence settled between them, and the air felt heavy.


    Reba knew she wasn’t getting out of here anytime soon, so she might as well get some answers. “Why do you have to take care of Andrea for the rest of her life? What is this ‘debt‘ you owe her?”


    “She saved my life,” Jeffrey stated simply.


    He had nned to tell her this only after she agreed toe back to him. But her asking now felt like a crack in her defenses, a sign that she was starting to bend. If she was giving in, he wouldn’t hide the truth.


    “She saved your life?” Reba looked up at him, unable to wrap her head around his logic. “So why not just give her a bunch of money, or help her get something she wants?


    “Wouldn’t that be enough? Do you really have to move her in with you and support her for the rest of her life?”


    Jeffrey’s lips pressed into a hard line. A storm of emotions was swirling in his eyes. “I promised I’d take care of her,” he said.


    Reba just didn’t get it. ‘A promise, she thought bitterly. ‘Always a promise.


    “Why are you so obsessed with this promise?” For the very first time, she pushed him, not caring how he might react.


    In the past, Reba would have dropped the subject, knowing Jeffrey hated talking about it. But now that everything was out in the open, she was determined to get real answers.


    Reba believed everyone had the right to keep secrets. But when a secret was big enough to poison a rtionship, it had to be brought into the light.


    Jeffrey didn’t say a word. When it came to the past, his lips were always sealed.


    “If you want to talk, really talk, then you have to tell me everything,” Reba said, giving him onest chance to have a real conversation. “I deserve to know why.”


    “You never cared about this stuff before.” The look in Jeffrey’s eyes changed, and his voice dropped. Before she could speak, he asked, “Can’t you just be with me because you love me?”


    55 vouchers.


    “I wish I could,” Reba said, feeling suffocated by frustration. “But after everything you’ve done, everything you’ve said, how am I supposed to love you? Put yourself in my shoes. Could you?”


    “Yes,” Jeffrey answered without a shred of doubt.


    He stepped toward her until they were inches apart, his eyes boring into hers. “As long as you kept telling me you loved me, you could destroy my pride, stomp all over me, and my heart would never change.”


    Reba’s breath caught in her throat. The suffocating weight she’d felt before became a sharp, stabbing pain


    in her chest.


    “But I’m not you,” she said. The words were meant to wound him, but they cut her just as deeply. “I can be open about my past. You can’t.”


    In spite of it all, a part of her still ached for him. She saw that photo in her mind again: a boy, small and lifeless, covered in blood.


    But Jeffrey refused to open up to anyone. He couldn’t stand being pitied. He had built such high walls around himself, sealing the past away. Not even she could find a way in.


    Reba took a breath, forcing all the warmth from her voice. “We’re really not right for each other. Can’t we just let each other go?”


    “Never,” he said.


    Reba pressed her lips into a hard line, her heart sinking. She knew, with crushing certainty, that it was useless to reason with him. Once Jeffrey decided on something, nothing and no one could change his mind.


    “Go back and get some rest,” Jeffrey said, burying his emotions, his voice t and calm. “You have work in the morning.”


    Reba turned and left without another word.


    Back in the elevator, she’d hoped they could sort things out. If he could just admit to his mistakes, give her <i>a </i>genuine exnation, apologize, and promise to change, maybe she could start to let go of the past.


    But now she saw that it was a fantasy. Jeffrey refused to let her in and wouldn’t tell her the truth. There was no fixing their problems when they couldn’t even have an honest conversation.


    The elevator doors opened on the eighteenth floor. Reba bolted out and ran smack into someone. “Oh god, I’m so sorry,” she said, not even looking to see who it was.


    “Whoa, you totally ttened me,” E yelped, rubbing her back. She had her back to the elevator just now. “What’s the fire? I’m pretty sure an injury this serious is gonna cost you dinner. Twice.”


    Reba’s head snapped up when she recognized the voice. “E? What are you still doing here?” she asked, grabbing Reba’s arm to make sure she was okay.


    “Faye’s back,” Ste said, letting go of her back and exining. “I figured she’d start grilling you if you came back alone, so I thought I’d wait for you. We can go in together.”


    55 vouchers


    E knew that if they both showed upte, Faye would think they were out having a good time. But if Reba came back by herself, Faye would be all over Reba, digging for gossip.


    “Thanks, E. Really,” Reba said.


    “Please, that’s what friends are for.” E waved it off as they started walking to their suite. “Seriously though, what was with the mad dash? Did you and Mr. Hanson have a fight?”


    “Not a fight, exactly. We just can’t agree on some things. We’re just talking in circles,” Reba said, keeping it vague. Jessica was the only person she told everything to. “Just forget it,” she added.


    E took the hint and didn’t push. “Okay, well, let’s dump our stuff and find some food.”


    “Okay,” Reba agreed.


    It was after seven by the time Reba and E got back from dinner. Faye was in her usual spot on the couch, phone glowing in her face. She looked up, offered a distracted “hey,” and immediately went back to her chat.


    At a little past nine, Reba was fresh out of the shower and lying in bed. She was just about to video call Samuel when her phone buzzed. It was a call from Samuel’s teacher.


    She answered immediately, “Hi, Ms. Gibson-”


    “Mrs. Hanson?” Lena Gibson’s voice was strained, cutting her off. “Is that you?”


    A cold knot of fear formed in Reba’s stomach. “Yes? What is it?”


    “It’s Samuel. He ate something,” Lena said, her words tumbling out in a rush. “He’s having a severe allergic reaction.”


    Reba didn’t remember the rest of the conversation. Her entire world narrowed to a terrifying fact: Samuel was allergic. It was serious. Jeffrey’s people had him. They were going to the hospital. She didn’t know if Samuel was okay.


    She didn’t even change out of her pajamas. She just shoved her feet into slippers and sprinted for the neenth floor, a raw, suffocating fear pounding in her chest.


    “Reba? Where are you going in such a hurry?” Faye shouted from the couch as Reba scrambled out the door.


    Reba blew past without a word. Faye, never one to miss potential drama, followed her out. She watched as Reba ran straight up <i>to </i>the neenth floor.


    “You are not going to believe this,” Faye announced, rushing back over to E, who was justing out of the bathroom. “Reba just sprinted upstairs to the neenth floor. In her pajamas. And slippers. Do you think she’s running to Mr. Hanson’s room?”


    E’s brow furrowed in concern. ‘In her pajamas?‘ she thought. ‘Something must be wrong.’


    “Did she say anything to you?” Faye pressed.


    “No idea,” E said tly, shutting down the gossip. “It must have been an emergency.”


    E55 vouchers


    Reba hit the neenth floor and sprinted for Jeffrey’s suite. The door was cracked open, and she shoved it aside, not bothering to knock. “Jeffrey, how’s Samuel?”