“Someday, Bella, I’m going to buy you a beautiful house, with plenty of land for you and your bees. And we’ll have lots of kids to run around and play with.”
Her eyes opened and met mine. I could see the love in them, and it made my heart pound something fierce in my chest.
“I want you, Hunter. Please,” she begged, quickly moving her hands to my jeans.
It wasn’t long after that I pushed inside of her, groaning at the feel of her body taking mine.
“Hunter,” she gasped as she wrapped her legs around me. “I love you.”
My face was buried in her neck when she spoke. Lifting my head, I met her gaze. “I love you too. So very much.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon on a blanket under a nearly cloudless sky, making love. The sounds of the bees our love song.
I made a vow to myself that day—or maybe even that day I saw her on the playground. My heart would always belong to Arabella Adams…always.
Senior year of college - March
My phone buzzed with a text message from Arabella. I turned it over, swiped up, and hit the preview.
Bella: Are you coming home this weekend?
With a quick glance to ensure the professor wasn’t watching, I typed my reply.
Me: Are you? If you’re planning on going home, I’ll be there.
Bella: I’m home now. We need to talk.
I frowned. It was odd for Bella to be home on a Thursday. I knew she had classes on Friday as well. Since I only had classes Monday through Thursday, I would often drive the short distance from Manchester, where I went to school, to Durham, where Bella went to the University of New Hampshire, to spend the weekend with her.
Me: Is everything okay?
Bella: I don’t want to talk over text. I’ll be home, so just stop by when you get back.
Me: I’ll leave right after class.
Three-and-a-half hours later, I sat on the porch swing of Arabella’s house while she sat opposite me. I could tell she’d been crying. A lot.
“Bella, do you want to tell me what’s going on? You’re starting to freak me out.” Her sky-blue eyes lifted and met mine. My heart dropped because all I could see in them was pain and sadness.
“I quit school.”
My mouth fell open. “You did what? Arabella, why in the hell would you do that? You only have this spring semester left and you’re done. Less than two months.”
She worked her throat as she attempted to swallow. “I don’t need a degree. Not to run my own family’s apiary.”
With a shake of my head, I tried to figure out what in the hell was happening. “Okay, well, if you want to quit school, I don’t care. I’ll be starting at the police academy soon, and then I’ll be back in Boggy Creek for good.”
She looked down at her hands and drew in a shaky breath. “I can’t do this.”
Frowning, I asked, “Do what?”
When she looked back up, tears were streaming down her face. “I can’t be with you now. Not after… I just can’t.”
My heart dropped to my stomach like a lead weight. “What do you mean, you can’t be with me? Do you mean right now?”
She shook her head. “Ever. I want to…I want to break up.”
When people said a rug was ripped out from under them, I never understood what they meant. Now I did, because my entire world had just been upended.
“You want to…break up? For good?”
She nodded and wiped at her tears. I quickly stood and made my way over to her.
She jumped up and backed away from me. “Don’t touch me!” she screamed.
I froze. “Arabella—what in the hell is going on? Why are you doing this?”
Her chin trembled as she just stared at me.
A sick feeling rolled through my gut. “Did you…did you met someone else you want to be with?”
A sob slipped free, and she shook her head. “Never.”
“Okay, then did something happen? Did you sleep with someone else?”
She spun around and wrapped her arms around herself. The fact that she wouldn’t even look at me told me everything I needed to know.
Holy fuck. Arabella cheated on me.
I pushed my fingers though my hair and tried to make sense of what was happening. “Bella, did you cheat on me?”
She turned back around and looked me in the eyes. “I would never cheat on you.”
“Then why in the fuck are you breaking up with me? At least give me a goddamn reason.”
Her head dropped, and she stared at the ground. “I…I don’t…I don’t love you anymore, and I don’t see a future for us.”
I suddenly couldn’t get enough air into my lungs as I stumbled back, nearly tripping and falling into the porch swing. When she looked back up at me, I knew the words she’d just spoken were nothing but a lie. Yet, she wasn’t taking them back.