I stood completely rotted and frozen in the exact spot that Maria had abandoned me moments ago, my boots glued to the cold stone floor of the corridor.
I stared across the empty space at Noah, and all I could feel surging through my veins was a blinding, suffocating rage. If he really hadn't selfishly injected himself into Maria's life, then she would still be ours without a single complaint, safe within the orbit where she belonged.
I know, deep down, that I have hurt her terribly in the past—I carry the guilt of those mistakes every single day. But I am genuinely sorry for every tear she shed, and I am more than ready to do absolutely anything she requests of me, just to make amends and earn a fraction of her trust back.
Yet, making things right always seemed impossibly hard, simply because Noah was constantly standing in the picture, blocking every path to her heart.
