Chapter 451
Chapter 451:
He was wearing a hospital gown beneath a heavy black coat, his back to her, his shoulders hunched. He looked smaller than she remembered — not physically, he was still a giant of a man — but the aura of invincibility that had always surrounded him was gone.
He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, staring at it as though it contained the answers to the universe.
Eliza took a breath, the cold air stinging her throat.
“You’re not supposed to smoke on hospital property, Dallas p>
He didn’t turn around. But she saw his hand clench, crushing the cigarette into a mangled twist of paper and tobacco.
“Go back inside, Eliza,” he said, his voice a low, jagged rumble. “It’s too cold for the baby p>
𝘐n𝗍𝗲𝗇ѕ𝗲 𝘳𝗈𝗺𝖺n𝖼e о𝗻 𝗀𝖺lո𝗼𝗏e𝗹ѕ.𝗰𝗈𝘮
“My husband is out here in the cold,” Eliza said, stepping closer. “So I think I’ll stay right here p>
Dallas finally turned his head.
The sight of him made Eliza’s heart ache. The stubble on his face was thicker now, and the dark circles under his eyes looked like bruises. The black mask was gone, but the shame was still there, written into every line of his posture.
“Don’t call me that,” he said. “We signed the papers p>
“Vinnie told me where the papers are, Dallas. They’re in a safe in New York — not at the courthouse p>
Dallas flinched as if she had struck him. He looked away, staring out at the gray expanse of the Puget Sound. “It doesn’t matter. The intent was there. I gave you your freedom p>
“I don’t want freedom from you!” Eliza shouted, her voice echoing off the brick chimneys of the roof. “I want the truth! I want to know why you thought you had the right to decide what I could handle p>
Dallas stood. He did it slowly, his face contorting with a flash of agony as he put weight on his left leg. He reached for a cane leaning against the bench, his knuckles white around the handle.
“You saw me in the park, Eliza,” he hissed, stepping toward her. “You heard what she said. I’m a wreck. I can’t walk across a room without a piece of plastic holding my bones together. I can’t — I can’t be the man you married p>
“You think I married you for your legs?” Eliza stepped into his space, her chest nearly touching his. “You think I fell in love with a bank account and a suit p>
“I can’t give you a normal life!” Dallas roared, the sound vibrating in the air between them. “I can’t take you dancing. I can’t run after our son in the park. I might not even be able to — to touch you the way a husband should.” He looked down at his hands, his voice dropping to a broken whisper. “I’m a broken god, Eliza. And I can’t stand the thought of you looking at me with pity for the next forty years p>
Eliza reached out. She didn’t hesitate. She placed her hands on his face, her palms warm against his cold skin.
He tried to pull away. She held him firm.
“Look at me, Dallas Koch p>
He slowly raised his eyes. They were swimming with tears he refused to let fall.