Chapter 43 The Weight of Truth

　　Caitlyn's POV 　　If I was just a hostage to use against Raymond… then the people who claimed to love me were worse than I thought. 　　My chest tightened. Love could be a lie—Richard and Blake never cared about me. 　　I felt hollow. 　　"I don't want to be left behind." 　　Raymond's face flashed in my mind, his warmth wrapping around me. 　　In my imagination, I was so overwhelmed I called out to him, and he answered, steady and patient. 　　My fingers fumbled with my clothes. It had been so long since I'd done this. 　　Raymond… My feelings for him were a mess, tangled with longing. 　　I ran my hands over my breast, then lower, spreading my legs, teasing myself. 　　I moaned his name, my vision blurring, the world fading away. 　　Then—emptiness. A crushing disappointment. I pulled my clothes back on and cleaned up. 　　There was nothing left to do but wait for someone to come. 　　I missed Raymond so much it hurt. Maybe that was why I saw him hunched over his desk, buried in work. Stacks of papers surro