The cold, white light was like sharp arrows. In that instant, whose body was pierced by a thousand shafts? Or was it… the heart?
Timothy York remained rigid for dozens of seconds before, bit by bit, he came back to life.
He slowly let her go.
It had been a face-to-face embrace, yet in the instant they parted, neither looked at the other.
Timothy York turned away, keeping his face hidden from her view.
But in truth, even if he hadn't turned away, Summer Thorne wasn't looking at him.
She just stood quietly where she was, waiting for a few seconds.
Once the bone-deep pain from his embrace had eased, she turned and walked out of the hospital room without a moment's hesitation.
From start to finish, aside from that first, startling moment of their meeting, Summer Thorne never saw his face or his expression again.
They even parted back to back.
His surroundings already felt distant, but even more remote was the sound of her footsteps, quick and unhalting, as she walked away…
