Chapter 14

Maverick stared at the bedroom which was once filled with warmth and sweetness, now reduced to nothing but memories. When Nicole's resolute words from her letter surfaced in his mind again, an inexplicable fury flared up inside him. He abruptly shook Chloe's hand off. The force was so great that she stumbled back a step. "Don't touch me!" he growled, his voice thick with restrained rage and rejection. "I'm sleeping in the study tonight." With that, he strode away without looking back. The door to the study slammed shut behind him, leaving behind Chloe, whose gaze slowly turned from stunned and hurt to resentment. Leaning against the cold wooden door, Maverick sucked in deep breaths, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He couldn't understand it. Why did being with his true love feel so unbearable? Why did Chloe's touch make him instinctively recoil? Why was Nicole there everywhere he looked? Nicole's departure had drained the villa of its last trace of warmth and life. No matte