“"Raegan, I can change. I'll rectify whatever you dislike until you're content. Can we start over?"

Raegan broke into a bittersweet laugh.

"You wish to start over with me, even after you walked away to be with Lauren during my pregnancy, and despite disregarding my appeals to protect our baby, and after I lost our baby?"

Was anything more ludicrous?

Her demeanor remained poised, yet Mitchel felt her words were laced with a silent scream.

His eyes clouded with regret, his voice quivering.

"What would it take for you to forgive me?"

Her gaze met his, unflinching.

"When you're gone."

Mitchel's towering frame suddenly faltered.

The notion that Raegan, ever so docile like a delicate white rabbit, could utter words that crushed his soul was beyond his imagination.

The light in Mitchel's eyes dimmed as he asked, his voice laden with sorrow, “Do you hate me that much?"

Raegan's face was a mask of apathy.

“During my abduction, I hated you deeply. ALL I could think was that if you hadn't left me in that hospital parking lot, perhaps I wouldn't have been kidnapped. But there's no use in ‘ifs.' I realize that given another chance, you'd still prioritize saving Lauren..."

"That's not true," Mitchel protested.

A sharp pang gripped his heart, and his throat seemed laced with broken glass, leaving a metallic taste in his mouth.

He reached out to caress Raegan's forehead, but she deftly avoided his touch, She shook her head, her tone laced with self-derision.

"Don't fool yourself. You can't let go of her."

Mitchel's voice, raw and strained, tried to explain, “Raegan, you've got it all wrong. I truly intended to send Lauren away, but I had promised to escort her abroad until her surgery was done, and then we would. .

"Mitchel!" Raegan cut him off sharply, pain etched in her voice.