As someone who dealt with other people’s issues on a daily basis, it had become pretty easy for me to shut off any feelings and just do my job, which allowed me to get to the core of the problem and solve it. However, it was damn hard to stop feeling when the issues in question were my own. I wasn’t a bystander now—I was right in the middle of an epic mess, and it was ugly and beyond painful.

I wished all those pep talks and suggestions I gave to others on a daily basis could even remotely help me, but they did nothing to soothe my pain. In fact, my pain only increased as the days passed.

I’d been a wreck ever since that night in the lobby, unable to block the negative feelings that were making me rather depressed. I’d always been aware that expecting him to be loyal to me was like trying to boil the ocean, yet I relied on the glimpses of his raw feelings he’d shown to me. There had been a naive part of me that believed in him. How messed up was that?

“Are you sure you don’t want Alison and me to come to your place? You’ve been locked in your apartment for days, and you’re starting to worry us,” Claire told me over the phone.

I stared at the TV screen, not actually seeing the show that was currently on, my thoughts coming back to Daniel. My thoughts had always come back to Daniel, and it was starting to annoy the hell out of me.

I’d decided to take a few days off because I was too heartbroken to actually work. This was my fourth day out of the office, but I didn’t feel any better.

“I’m sure. I have plenty of old shows and popcorn to keep me company,” I said cheerfully, hoping she would buy this.

Of course, she didn’t. “You can’t fool me, Mari. You sound like a beaten cat. I think you should stop avoiding us. You need company now more than ever.”

Claire and Alison weren’t the only people I avoided these days. I avoided Daniel too—he was actually on the top of my “to ignore” list. He’d attempted to reach me quite a few times, calling me and sending me numerous texts, until I decided to turn off my phone, completely ignoring him. I was glad that my landline number wasn’t listed anywhere on the clinic brochures, so I didn’t have to turn it off too.

“Marissa, why aren’t you answering your phone?”

“Is everything okay?”

“Baby, we need to talk.”

“Why aren’t you coming to your work?”

“Okay. Now I’m going all crazy here. Are you OK?”

Each of Daniel’s texts brought another nail into my bleeding heart, and they were weakening my resolve to stay away from him. I was sure that if I’d heard his voice even once, I’d be tempted to see him, and that would lead us nowhere. He was sleeping with other women, so there was nothing to discuss. The man was as free as a bird, so I might as well give up completely on him and let him forget about me.

“I already told you that Daniel was looking for you in the clinic. I think you should call him at least and tell him to leave you alone,” Claire told me, bringing me back to the present moment.

It was a good thing I was staying at home because it would be impossible for me to avoid him at my work.

“I have no intention of calling him. There’s no point. Either way, we can’t be together. I can’t accept sharing him with other women, Claire. Besides, maybe he wants to see me so he can tell me that he’s finished with me, and that would only make me more miserable.”

“That doesn’t sound reasonable, Mari. Why would he try so hard to reach you if he only wanted to stop seeing you?”

I let out a heavy sigh, resting my head on the back of my couch as I stared at the ceiling. Talk about complicated. And there I thought that being single was the end of the world. Right now, I wished Daniel had never stepped foot in my clinic.

“Maybe he wants a ‘goodbye’ fuck,” I replied gloomily.

Claire chuckled. “That makes even less sense! And what’s a ‘goodbye’ fuck?”

“You know, a quick fuck before we say goodbye to each other.”

Her chuckles left her lips once more. “I don’t think he wants a quick fuck, sweetie. You know, I saw him the last time he came here and he looked really concerned about you.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. I barely managed to convince him that you’re okay and that he should leave you alone since you don’t want to talk with him. By the way, he’s quite sexy.”

“Ugh, Claire, that doesn’t help me now.”

I could practically see her smiling like a Cheshire cat. “Yeah, I know, but I’m just stating the facts. He looks damn good, which is one big plus for him. Anyway, as I said, he looked concerned, which tells me that there is more to his feelings than you give him credit for.”

I ran my hand through my hair, now truly conflicted. “It doesn’t matter, Claire. Don’t you get it? No matter what he feels for me, I can’t just get over the fact that he sleeps around. I won’t let myself get into this with him.”

“Well, if, for example, he actually feels something real toward you, why don’t you give him some time? Maybe you two can get together after he cures his addiction?”

“I can’t rely on some slight possibility that he loves me and will get cured. This is not likely to happen. And how long should I wait for him? One year? Two years? Ten? No. I can’t play with my heart like this. I’m better off without him.”

“Ok. If you say so.”

I dragged myself to the shower after we ended the call, hoping the hot water would chase away this anxiety that had accumulated over the day. I was tired of thinking about my lame love life. I’d made my decision and I was going to stick to it.

I returned to the living room, intent on watching some movie that could distract me and help me forget about the “Daniel” drama when my doorbell rang.

I checked the clock on my wall and read 10 pm. Who would come to my place this late? Frowning, I went to the door and checked through the peephole, but I couldn’t see anyone. For a moment, I thought this could be Daniel, but it was impossible because he didn’t know where I lived. There was no way he would appear at my place.

The doorbell rang again, and I opened the door, immediately regretting it. I was wrong. It was Daniel. How did he know where I lived?

“Marissa—”

I tried to shut the door in his face, not interested in hearing him out in the slightest, but he placed his leg in the crack and pushed the door open without any effort.

“Get out, Daniel.” I didn’t like that my voice sounded so shaken. I didn’t fail to notice how handsome he looked in his jeans and polo shirt, which was a different outfit from his usual one, but it suited him so well. I could see each ridge of his abs, reminded of licking them on my way to his hard cock...

He got inside and closed the door behind him, his eyes on my wet hair before they went down my body, slowly checking me out. I was in my comfy t-shirt and leggings, wearing no bra, and I suspected my nipples were perfectly visible to him. His darkened gaze confirmed that, and I wished the ground could swallow me, especially because my nipples hardened under his hot stare.

Just great. I didn’t need this.

“Please, get out. You—”

“We need to talk, Marissa, so I’m not going anywhere.” He advanced toward me, and I immediately backed away from him.

“I’ll call the police. You can’t just barge in like that and demand to talk to me.”

He halted, frowning at me. “I won’t hurt you. I just want to know why the hell you’ve been avoiding me all of a sudden. I deserve to know the truth because you can’t just cut me out of your life without even telling me why. So I’m not going anywhere until you explain this to me.”

My hands clenched, as I hated to be cornered like this. I wasn’t prepared for this, but there was no way for me to cop out of it.

“Fine,” I gritted out. “Since you insist, I’ll tell you why.” I headed toward my living room without even waiting for his response, reminding myself I had to resist him. No matter what he said, I wouldn’t go back to him. That was for sure.