A month later, Tally awoke with a start, heart pounding and drenched in sweat. She’d had yet another nightmare, although the familiar sense of dread was already fading. A shadow lingered in her mind, almost within reach, but as she grasped to remember, it faded, leaving her with an overwhelming sense of loss.

She reached for Cash. His side of the bed was empty. She glanced at the clock and groaned. Too early. Throwing on a dressing gown, she tiptoed onto the landing, her ears straining. The house was silent, and as she crept downstairs, a flickering light came from the living room.

She peered round the door. Cash was sitting on the edge of the sofa, his forearms resting on his knees. The Shanghai Masters tennis tournament was on TV. Cash was focused on the game and didn’t notice her until she sat beside him. She stroked his arm.

“Who’s playing?”

He shot her a glare, the agony on his face tearing through Tally. “Not me,” he bit out.

She picked up his hand, the damaged one, and kissed it. “It will be. Soon.”

He snatched his hand away. “What makes you psychic?”

Tally held back a sharp retort. Arguing didn’t help when he got like this. “It’s not even three months since the accident. You’re being far too hard on yourself.”

His mouth twisted into a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Shocker.”

She tried to lean against his shoulder, but he shuffled along the sofa, out of reach. The rebuff was like a knife to her gut, and her eyes welled with tears.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” he said with a huff. “Don’t start, Natalia. I can’t deal with your shit as well as my own.”

“Cash––”

“For fuck’s sake!” He launched to his feet and scraped a hand through his hair. “Go back to bed, and leave me alone.”

“No. That’s not what you need.”

“Don’t you fucking dare tell me what I need. Right now, I need you to leave me the hell alone.”

He slammed his undamaged fist into the wall. Tally flinched, and even though she tried not to, she began to cry. Who said words couldn’t hurt? Cash’s sure packed a punch. She walked over to him and reached out her hand. “Please don’t push me away. I love you.”

He stared at her with hard, flinty eyes, nothing like the man she’d fallen in love with. Right at that moment, he looked as though he hated her. “You never know when to leave it alone, do you?”

“I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t want your fucking help!”

He moved so quickly Tally barely caught sight of the vase until it went sailing past her head. It smashed against the wall behind her, and she instinctively sank to the floor, covering her head with her hands as shards of ceramic scattered across the carpet. She couldn’t speak as her heart nearly punched through her chest. She waited for him to fall at her side, to beg her forgiveness for scaring her. He did neither.

She slowly lifted her head. “What are you doing?” she whispered.

His breath came in short pants, and his nostrils flared as he glowered at her. “Well, you seem incapable of listening to anything I say. Maybe that will get the message home.”

This wasn’t Cash. He’d be contrite as soon as he’d calmed down. She could handle this. He hadn’t aimed the vase at her.

“What message?” she said gently.

He rolled his eyes. “Are you really that fucking dumb? I don’t love you anymore. I want you gone. We’re finished. Over. Get out of my house. Out of my life.”

Tally’s throat constricted, and she wrapped her arms around her body. “You don’t mean that.” She began to sob.

“I mean every fucking word.” He looked up and down her body, his gaze disparaging. “The accident has knocked some fucking sense into me. You’re not my goddamn type. Never were, never will be.”

He wasn’t angry now. He was cold. Impassive. Hatred poured from his eyes as he held her gaze. She clutched a hand to her chest, trying to hold together her shattered heart. Her dream had become reality.

“I know you love me. You said you’d never stop loving me.”

His top lip turned up in a sneer. “Things change. I don’t love you anymore. I don’t want you. In fact, the only thing I do want is for you to get the fuck out of my house and leave me alone.”

Tally choked back a sob. She’d thought the worst was over when Cash survived the crash, but she didn’t know this person at all. White dots flashed in front of her eyes, and she steadied herself against the wall, waiting for the light-headedness to pass. She looked down at her engagement ring and slowly tugged it off her finger. Cash watched her the whole time, and she searched for signs of sorrow, regret, but there were none. She put the ring on the mantelpiece and left the room.

Her movements were wooden as she packed a suitcase. She recognised the signs of shock, of course. She’d had enough experience of that these past few months.

It took less than fifteen minutes to pack. She kept expecting Cash to run upstairs, to beg her to stay. But he didn’t.

She lugged her suitcase down the two flights of stairs until she found herself standing in the hallway. She called for a taxi and was told one would be there in ten minutes, but she couldn’t bear to spend another moment inside the house. When she walked back into the living room, Cash was standing in exactly the same spot. He glanced over his shoulder as she entered.

“I’m leaving now,” she said, her eyes pleading with him to reconsider as tears dried on her cheeks.

“Good.” He turned his back, one hand resting on the mantelpiece.

Tally choked back a sob. “I’ll send someone for the rest of my things. Say goodbye to Rachael for me. I hope you find happiness.”

And with that, she walked out. Broken. Shattered. Alone.

* * *

Cash waited until the sobs faded to whimpers, and eventually, the front door slammed, and silence took over the house. He edged to the window. Natalia was dragging her suitcase behind her, head bowed against the ever-blowing Northern Ireland wind. As he watched her walk down the long driveway to the road, a piece of him died.

His life was in tatters. He’d lost memories, the full use of his right hand, his tennis career. Why me? Why did I have to lose everything?

God, he still loved Natalia, but he couldn’t deal with her at the moment. He knew her better than she knew herself. She never would have left unless he could convince her he didn’t love her anymore. It would be the only thing to make her go. She had too much pride to cling to a relationship she believed to be dead.

He couldn’t trust himself. Even he didn’t know what he was capable of any longer. Rage burned within him. He’d always had a temper, even before the accident, but then it would be like lighting a match—quick to flame and equally quick to burn out. But the anger he now felt was different, like a bubbling volcano. He didn’t know how to control it. One day, he’d explode, and Natalia would be caught in the fallout.

He couldn’t allow that to happen. It would kill him if he ever hurt her physically. Better for them to be apart.

He picked up her engagement ring and closed his fist around it. The day he’d given it to her had been the happiest day of his life, and as he sank onto the sofa, he allowed those memories to flow over him, a crumb of comfort in the midst of a bleak future.