#Chapter 22: The Heart Can’t Be Trusted

“Tell him you aren’t interested,” Asher said, crossing his arms. I lowered my gaze to the phone in my hands. The nervous boy’s innocent message stared back at me. Do you want to go out on a date this weekend? At first my fingers moved to comply with Asher’s demand, almost on reflex. I even opened a new message to reply. Yet before I typed a single letter, I stopped myself. Why should I turn him down? Despite how nice this night with Asher had been, it wasn’t a date. He was just doing what he always did, taking over my life under the guise of protection. He only wanted to have dinner with me every night so that he could decide what I got to eat. I backed out of my message, and clicked off the screen to my phone. “What are you doing?” Asher said. I returned my phone to my purse. “I need to think about it.” “What is there to think about? Tell him no.” His insistent demands began to scorch my already aching heart. If I lied to myself, I could maybe believe he was ju