Chapter 24

‘Tell me the truth and if you lie to me, I will have you fired before you take your next breath,’ he grits through his teeth, and I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.

‘Start talking,’ he demands taking my food from my lap and putting it on the table in front of me.

I feel my eye prick with tears as I look at his handsome face his eyes softening as he watches me blink back the tears threatening to fall from my face. He reaches over resting a hand on my shoulder before looking at me once more, this time his voice and face so soft I feel the cracks in my mask shatter before the tears flow down my cheeks uncontrollably.

‘Please Stephanie just talk to me,’ he gives my shoulder a comforting squeeze as a shudder my body shaking as I sob, I’m drowning in my tears as all the stress and anxiety from the last year seems to have bubbled to the surface uncontrollably. I can’t breathe as I try to suck in more oxygen as the tears run down my face.

I cough and splutter chocking on my tears as I sh