166 Please don't leave me (part 3)

Sitting in the dark on the chair beside the fireplace in his bedroom, Neil leaned forward and put his head in his hands, trying not to think or feel. He had done what he set out to do and more; he had proved to himself and to her that he didn't need her nor want her anymore, not even sexually. And he had proved to her that he wasn't worth caring about or worrying about after she left here in the morning. She would leave this cabin hating him and anything that had to do with him.

He had accomplished his goals brilliantly, and indelibly. But he had never felt more desolate or more ashamed than how he felt after doing such a thing to the woman who'd obviously cared about him more than he cared about himself.