For the first week, Renz was certain Lena would return to him.

He waited for her everyday, absolutely sure that at any moment, her pretty face would reappear. Surely she didn't mean everything she'd said. And surely she knew that he didn't mean everything he'd said. Once she calmed down and gathered her wits, his Lena would return to him.

But she didn't.

For the second week, Renz was furious. He spent his days constantly on edge, his face permanently etched with a harsh scowl. His rage was steady and omnipresent, boiling beneath the surface, and periodically, it would volcanically explode in the form of an aggressive verbal outburst. His...