Chapter 84

NOAH I was taken aback when Olivia suddenly burst into tears, her voice trembling as she repeatedly said, “I’m hurt.” I couldn’t understand how it could have come to this. I had been nothing but gentle and restrained with her, careful with every touch, every movement. Olivia and her husband had been married for many years and had a daughter, yet despite the years together, there was a certain naivety about her. It was as though, even in her marriage, she had remained innocent in bed, untouched by the deeper intimacies of a relationship. I stared blankly at Olivia in my arms, at a loss for words. Warm tears soaked my shoulder, each drop burning against my skin. I couldn’t believe I had made her cry so uncontrollably. The weight of her tears, scalding me with their heat, left me completely disoriented. I had never felt so powerless. In my 29 years of existence, I had never experienced anything like this. I was forced to pause, the tension in my temples throbbing with suppressed urges. Sl