Chapter 71

"H-Hector?" Skye's voice faltered, her heart a drumbeat in her ears.

"Yes, it's me." his voice was steady, his eyes locked in hers, causing her heart rate to soar. A silent storm brewed in their depths.

His changed gaze puzzled her, yet it elicited the same inner pleasant disturbance she felt when he looked at her before all that happened, which alienated them. It evoked memories of when his eyes were a haven of sweetness and light.

She had forced her mind to erase the memory of the beauty of that look, and now it felt like the first time, both foreign and achingly familiar.

What was unfolding with the man before her?

When she saw him standing at her door, she thought he had come to mock her again or to say cruel words, poised on his tongue, ready to be hurled at her like daggers as a goodbye.

Their history was a tapestry of misunderstandings and barbed exchanges, a pattern they seemed doomed to repeat.

She had braced for mockery and bitter parting words hurled like stones, but the r