I felt the pressure rising in my chest, tightening until it hurt to breathe. Tears gathered hotly behind my eyes, threatening to spill, but I forced them back. I tried desperately to create a distance between us, to step away, to escape the weight of everything pressing between our bodies.
But he wouldn't let me.
His hands closed around my arms, firm but shaking, holding me in place.
"I'm… I'm not… I'm not.."
The words crawled up my throat like thorns, tearing at me from the inside. Saying them felt like stabbing myself slowly, and deliberately knowing the wound would bleed longer in me than in him.
"I'm not your wi.."
The syllable broke in my mouth, splintering into a whisper. My lips trembled and my voice died. I felt my heart screaming at me but my tongue refused to carry the sound.
His face changed instantly.
"Can you please stop all these lies?" he snapped, his voice cracking with more hurt than anger. "I'm tired of hearing them!"
