For a long moment after Alejandro was gone, Elise sat frozen, her gaze fixed on the door he had stormed out of. The sound of his cane tapping against the floor still echoed faintly in her ears and his words lingered in her head, louder than she wanted.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

She closed her eyes, willing herself to suppress the tears that threatened to spill. But it was a futile effort. One by one, they slid down her cheeks, warm and causing an ache in her chest.

She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Why did it feel like she was? She was exhausted from always being the...