Stripping Her Defenses Read Free Page B

resignation set in. The only thing I could hope for now was that his team had been activated, and he wasn’t leaving me right before my college graduation voluntarily.
    Clasping my hands tightly underneath the swell of my belly, I softly asked, “You get called in, sweetheart?”
    His shoulder stiffened as he paused in his motions to stuff something else in his bag. “Something like that.”
    He started to move again, faster this time, almost rushing to finish his preparations. That renewed vigor, that motivation of what must be ‘Hurry the hell up before she starts her ridiculous hysterics’ was probably the death of my tenuous faith that my marriage was taking a turn for the better. As if someone had come along and smacked me square in the forehead, everything became crystal clear for me. The state of my marriage had never improved; the problems had just been put on pause.
    Riley hadn’t left for a voluntary mission these past few months because there hadn’t been a need for him. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a voluntary mission. His vague answer had confirmed it for me. If his team had been called in, his response would have been a straight forward ‘yes.’ Instead, he’d given me a lie, painted in pretty half-words in the hopes I wouldn’t make a scene before he left.
    As my eyes pricked with the threat of tears, I nodded my head in acceptance. I wouldn’t make a scene. In fact, I wouldn’t say a negative word about it. While he was gone, I would sit down and think it all over again. Perhaps there was something I hadn’t thought of yet that would help me reconnect with my husband. Someway, somehow, I would find a way to confirm that the love of my life—the man who owned me heart and soul—still, in fact, loved me.
    When feet came into my view on the floor, I looked up into his eyes as he stood just inches from me. He eyed me warily, looking as if he was bracing for an impact of some sort. And it made me wonder, how could someone be so close to you physically, yet still so out of reach emotionally?
    Refusing to make a scene, I stayed silent and chose to simply watch him. Run my eyes over him, memorizing his features in case something happened on this mission and I never saw him again.
    “I’ll try to make it back by your graduation, but if I miss it, I’m sorry.” His muscles tensed again, as if waiting for a strike of some sort.
    I realized I just didn’t have it in me to fight back. At least, not right now. Not when I was dealing with my heart feeling like it was lying in brutalized, little pieces on the floor; more likely next to my stomach that might not regain its regular appetite for days.
    Not knowing what else to say, I nodded in understanding.
    My lack of response seemed to confound him. Maybe I’d been a bit more of a raging bitch about this issue than I’d thought?
    I watched him reach out a tentative hand towards my face as if he wanted to caress it, but he stopped just short of actually touching me, faltering before dropping it back to his side. Turning around, he walked back to the bed, picked up his bag, and then walked over to give me a kiss on the cheek.
    “I love you, and I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
    Not bothering to wait for a response, he walked past me. Seconds later, I heard the front door close.
    Standing in a bedroom as empty as I felt, I whispered back to absolutely no one, “I love you, too.”
    Once again, the man who was my everything had left me.

Chapter
    2
    Kara
    The next day…
    Finals were over, and I was ninety-nine percent positive I’d passed them. I’d pasted on a fake smile for my friends when leaving our classroom for the last time, wishing it could have been a real one to share with my husband. In just a few days, I’d graduate with my Bachelor’s Degree in Education. I was one step closer to achieving that perfect life I’d dreamed about as a kid.
    I had everything I’d always thought I wanted: married to my high school