Copyright 2018 by Colleen Hoover

He suspected her?
I squeeze my neck, trying to ease all the tension that last chapter infused into
my muscles. How could he still take care of her? Bathe her and change her for
the rest of his life? Feel like he owes her the promise of his vows?
If he truly thought she killed Harper, how could he stand to be in the same
house as her?
I hear the garage door open, so I walk to the office door and step out into the
hallway. Jeremy is holding Crew in his arms at the foot of the stairs.
“Six stitches,” he whispers. “And a lot of pain meds. He’s out cold for the
night.” He walks Crew upstairs to put him to bed. I don’t hear him check on
Verity before he begins to make his way back down again.
“Want some coffee?” I ask him.
“Please.”
He follows me into the kitchen, where he hugs me from behind, sighing into
my hair as I start a pot of coffee. I lean my head against his, full of so many
questions. But I say nothing because I don’t even know where to start.
I spin around while the coffee brews and wrap my arms around him. We
hold each other in the kitchen for several minutes. Until he releases his hold on
me and says, “I need to shower. I have dried blood all over me.”
I notice it then. The drops on his arms, the smears on his shirt. It’s starting to
be our thing, being covered in blood. I’m glad I’m not superstitious.
“I’ll be in the office.”
We kiss, and then he runs upstairs. I wait for the coffee to finish brewing so I
can make myself a cup. I’m still not sure how to approach him with all my
questions, but after reading that last chapter, I have so many. I think it might be a
long night.
I hear his shower start when I finish pouring myself a cup of coffee. I carry it

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back to the office with me and then spill it all over the floor. The cup shatters.
The hot liquid splashes my legs and begins to seep under my toes, but I can’t
move.
I am frozen in place as I stare at the monitor.
Verity is on the floor. On her hands and knees.
I lunge for my phone at the same time I scream Jeremy’s name.
“Jeremy!”
Verity’s head tilts to the side, as if she heard my scream from upstairs.
Before I can open my camera app with unsteady fingers, she crawls back into
her bed. Gets back into position. Stills herself.
“Jeremy!” I yell again, dropping my phone. I run to the kitchen and grab a
knife. I run up the stairs, straight to Verity’s room. I unlock her door and swing
it open.
“Get up!” I yell.
She doesn’t move. Doesn’t even flinch.
I rip the covers off her. “Get up, Verity. I saw you.” I’m full of rage as I
lower the side of her hospital bed. “You aren’t getting away with this.”
I want Jeremy to see her for who she really is before she has an opportunity
to hurt him. To hurt Crew. I grab her by the ankles and pull on her legs. I have
her halfway out of the bed when I feel someone rip me from her. I’m swung
around, carried to the door. He plants my feet on the floor of the hallway.
“What the hell are you doing, Lowen?” Jeremy’s face and his voice are so
full of anger.
I step forward, pressing my hands against his chest. He pulls the knife away
from me and grips my shoulders. “Stop.”
“She’s faking it. I saw her, I swear, she’s faking it.”
He steps back into her room and slams the door in my face. I open the door,
and he’s lifting Verity’s legs back onto the bed. When he sees me entering the
room again, he tosses the covers over Verity and shoves me out into the hallway.
He turns and locks her door, then grabs me by the wrist and pulls me behind
him.
“Jeremy, no.” I’m grabbing at his wrist that’s locked tightly around mine.
“Don’t leave Crew up here with her.” My voice is pleading, but he can’t hear the
worry. He can only see what he thinks he knows, what he walked into. When we
reach the stairs, I back up, shaking my head, refusing to descend them. He needs