Follow Her Heart

Austyn looked away. ‘It’s all in the past now.’ Deborah grasped his hand. ‘Jesse talked to me after you left last night. He told me how you had a hard time coping with my death. You withdrew into yourself, stopped talking to people, and spent all your time working.’ She looked up at him with red eyes. ‘Austyn, it breaks my heart to know you went through all that. But I’m back now. I promise I’ll never leave you again.’ Austyn’s face gave away nothing. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t tried to contact you sooner. I didn’t dare. I was afraid of what your father might do if he found out. I’m sorry I wasn’t brave enough.’ Her tears fell onto the back of his hand. Austyn squeezed her hand. ‘It’s not your fault. Stop apologising.’ Deborah held his hand to her chest. ‘You’re always so considerate. Which only makes me more ashamed. I shouldn’t have been so overly cautious. I should’ve tried harder to escape. If I’d come back to you sooner, you wouldn’t have gone through all these years of loneliness.’ Aus