Chapter 81: You're Sleeping With Me Tonight

The hum of Roman’s car filled the silence between us as the city rolled by. Familiar places drifted past the window. Restaurants where he had once taken me out to during lunch breaks, bookstores I had shamelessly raided on his dime. Each sight tugged at me, reminders of moments we had shared, moments I had convinced myself meant more than they probably did. My fingers itched against my lap, restless, until they found the engagement ring on my finger. That damned ring. I twisted it absentmindedly, the cool band slipping easily around the joint of my knuckle. My chest tightened with each spin. Sooner or later, I’d have to give it back to him. Maybe even tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never, if I could avoid the inevitable. But the thought of handing it over felt like I’d be surrendering a piece of myself. Still, I couldn’t risk insulting him. Or worse, insulting his mother, if it had once belonged to her. “You can stop me right there,” I murmured, pointing ahead to the faint glow of my n