She Didn’t Fix Her Reputation. She Threw It Away. Chapter 23

She Didn’t Fix Her Reputation. She Threw It Away. Chapter 23

I set down my coffee and stood up.

I would not let the rot of New York seep into my new life.

“I’ll be right back.”

I pushed open the door and stepped out into the crisp November air.

He followed me immediately, trailing that same expensive cologne, now mingled with the faint, sour scent of exhaustion.

“What are you doing here?” My voice was so cold it surprised even me.

I could already look at this man, this ghost from another life, and feel nothing.

Beckett visibly flinched. He took a step forward, reaching for my hand, but I instinctively pulled away.

“What am I doing here? I’m here for you, obviously.” His voice was hoarse, laced with a desperate anger. “How could you just disappear like that? Daphne, I’ve spent a month looking for you.”

A month.

The word didn’t stir a single ripple in my heart.

“Why were you looking for me?” I asked, my tone flat.

I might as well have been speaking to a stranger.

“To take you home, of course,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “What are you doing in this place? Stop this ridiculous game and come back with me. I’ll forgive you this time.”

Forgive me?

I almost laughed.

Even now, after everything, he still thought the world revolved around him.