My heart cracked then—I could have sworn I heard the break—and I was sobbing against his chest. “I can’t live without him,” I said, so broken that speaking hurt. “I can’t do it.” His hands never stopped stroking me. “You can and you will, Maddison James. You are important. To the world. To us.” Small pause. “To me.” Rone leaned over, his icy energy washing down my side. “Give yourself time,” he murmured, and when I lifted my face, his thumbs brushed away my tears. “It won’t fix your pain, but you’ll learn how to live with it. You’ll function again. You’ll remember everything beautiful about
...more
