The visit with Evan's mom went well, better than I thought it would. I agreed to pretend like everything was okay between us. Not for him but for Fiona. She didn't need to know I was going to leave him. She didn't need more things on her mind. So we held hands for the first time in a very long time and played nice. It seemed to work and we left with tearful hugs and promises to come see her more.

I was completely paranoid someone would somehow notice the hickey on my neck even though I made sure to cover it up good with makeup. I kept my hair down and on one side to keep it hidden anyway. My mind was racing with too many things. How was it possible he could leave a mark on me in a dream? It made no sense.

The only rationalization I could come to was I must've pinched myself in my sleep or something. Even that didn't seem accurate but there was no plausible explanation and the fact there wasn't left me feeling unsettled and even more crazy than I normally felt. Except I always believed there was something else going on in the universe. Maybe...

No. I shook my head. That was ridiculous. It was just dreams.

It didn't help I'd always been a little superstitious. My mom discouraged it but I swear sometimes things happened that we couldn't explain and sometimes I just felt something. I didn't know how to explain it, it was just a feeling, like I had another sense or something. Mom tried to shut it down but it never left me. I still liked going into those silly stores with the healing crystals and tarot cards and whatnot. I hadn't done that in a long time because of the whole image issue with Evan.

Ugh, Evan. Jackass was sitting next to me in the car and I couldn't wait to get out of it just to get away from him.

The car ride home from their house was silent. That was fairly typical and today I was glad for it. I had enough on my mind. I leaned my head against the window and stared out, wondering why I was cursed when it came to mothers and wondering how the hell you get hickeys in your dreams.

"Do you want to grab some dinner?" Evan asked.

"Pick up whatever you want," I shrugged, not feeling hungry.

"I meant out at a restaurant. Not take out."

Excuse me, what the fuck? When was the last time we ate a meal together that wasn't in front of photographers at some event? I lifted my head from the cool glass of the car window and looked over at him in confusion. His eyes darted to me briefly and he sighed.

"I know," he said. "I just... I want to thank you."

"Thanks is unnecessary," I frowned. "I love her."

I leaned my head against the window and shut my eyes. They snapped open when I felt his hand on my leg.

"Please go to dinner with me?" He asked.

I looked over and moved my leg away from his hand. "I have a session with Cynthia at four thirty."

"Oh," he frowned. "What about after?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because I want to go to dinner with you," he sighed. "You're my wife. We should have dinner together sometimes."

"Since when?" I scoffed.

"I know I haven't been good to you," he said, gripping the steering wheel. "I know that. I know I've been consumed with my own life and left you out of it. I know that I haven't treated you right. I'm sorry. Just let me take you to dinner. I know you're upset about my mom, too. We don't need to feel even more depressed eating dinner alone."

I swear he knew exactly what to say. I hated that. I hated how well he still knew me. He knew I would feel too guilty to say no. I had an overwhelming need to make people feel better, even shitty people, apparently.

"Fine. But it means nothing and I'm picking the place," I mumbled, turning away from him. "I want-"

"Marticello's," he interrupted. "The one on Fourth Street. I know."

Dammit. I simply nodded and continued my stare out the window. He drove us home and I had to just jump in my car to drive to Cynthia's. I pondered what the hell to tell her as I drove. She would think I was crazy if I told her about the hickeys. I wanted to tell her about the dreams but now I felt uncertain. She'd be able to tell I was hiding something from her but I had no idea what to say. I also needed to tell her about Fiona. And dinner with Evan. God, the list was growing.

Her sessions always left me feeling less depressed, more uplifted. Today's didn't because I wasn't totally honest with her. I left the room and we both knew I was holding back but she only pushed so much. 'I know you'll tell me when you're ready' she said as I walked out the door.

The combination of everything that happened that day was bad enough but apparently my barely functioning body decided to make it worse. I stepped outside and suddenly couldn't breathe, my heart was racing too fast and I felt like I was going to pass out. Fuck, I probably would pass out, I had to not be standing or I'd end up with a concussion again. I quickly grabbed onto the bench outside and was about to sit when I started seeing spots.

Then I passed out.

"Kora??"

I blinked my eyes a couple times and winced at a pain in my head and in my arm. I fully opened my eyes to see Cynthia staring down at me in concern.

"Oh my God, you scared me," she breathed. "Are you okay? Did you take your medication today?"

"I did," I said, sitting up and rubbing my arm where a nice bruise was forming from me hitting the bench. "I'm fine. I'm just having a shitty day, you know stress makes things worse," I said, setting my hand on my forehead and closing my eyes.

"Do you need me to drive you to the doctor?" She asked.

"No, no, they'll just give me medication I already have," I sighed. "I could use some water to take my backup pills though."

"All right, sit tight," she said, patting my shoulder before going back inside.

I hated this. Stupid body and its inability to behave. I hated it even more when it happened in public where people would stare. Thankfully I was her last patient so there wasn't anyone else around.

I sighed and sat up, rubbing my arm and leaning back against the wall as I dug through my purse for my emergency kit. If people didn't know the shit I had to put up with, they'd probably think I was a druggie.

Cynthia came out with a bottle of water and sat with me while I took my pill and waited a few minutes for the effects to sink in.

"This hasn't happened in a while," she commented.

"Yeah, well, I've been stupid," I admitted, sinking my head between my knees. "I drank a lot this weekend. More than I was supposed to."

"You mentioned that. You also mentioned it came from a place of celebration and also pain," she said. "Do we need to revisit the self-destructive habits talk?"

"No," I sighed, shaking my head. "I'll be better. I know my limitations, I just..." I shrugged. "I sometimes get tired of having to be careful all the time. I wish I was normal."

"I know it's frustrating," she said. "But I also know you feel better physically and mentally when you do what you're supposed to. There's nothing wrong with indulging, Kora. We all need to indulge sometimes. But not at a cost to your health."

"Yeah, I know," I sighed, lifting my head up. "I'm okay. The medicine is helping."

"Is it just the drinking? I've noticed this has also been a problem in the past where you didn't tell me something you really wanted to tell me and the stress of not admitting it elicited a physical reaction," she pointed out.

I sighed and bit my lip, resting my head back against the wall. "I bumped into this guy this last weekend," I started. "And he was super hot, like," I blew out a breath and shook my head. "Like, super hot and I don't know. Anyway, I kept thinking I hope I bump into him again when everything is over with Evan, you know?" She nodded and I sighed. "Well then I dreamed about him. And then I dreamed about him again. And in my dreams it's like... Weird," I frowned. "Like I'm interacting with a real person, which obviously I'm not," I laughed. I couldn't be. "And it's weird because he's... Nice... But at the same time he like, holds himself at a distance from me. Like the first dream was uh," I cleared my throat, darting my eyes away. "Rather intimate but immediately after this dream guy acted weird and he has ever since. He keeps trying to tell me he's real and wants me to meet him somewhere." And I had hickeys mysteriously show up. "So I think I might be going crazy," I said, biting my lip and looking over at her.

She smiled and shook her head. "You're not crazy, Kora. You're probably dreaming about this man because you took a liking to him and he's probably holding you at a distance because of your own inhibitions and perspective on yourself. Because you don't think you deserve someone to give you attention. Because while you've done really well in the healing process with what Evan put you through, you still have a ways to go and you will as long as you're living in that house."

"I guess that makes sense," I sighed. "Self-sabotaging even in my sleep huh?" I joked lightly.

"It happens," she said. "It doesn't make you crazy. But it does say something about your self-worth, doesn't it? We both know you could use more of that."

"Right," I nodded. "You're right. I don't know, it just seems like such weird dreams."

"Sometimes our brains do that to us, especially with big changes on the horizon which you have coming," she shrugged. "Not to mention, weren't you drinking both nights? You don't drink very often, alcohol can have a strange effect on our subconscious minds."

"That's true," I frowned. "I didn't think of that. Okay," I sighed. "Thanks. I'm sorry about this," I said, gesturing to myself as I stood.

"What'd we say about apologizing?" She said, raising an eyebrow. All I could do was give her a sheepish smile. "It's all right, Kora. Call me if you need me," she said, standing with me.

"Thanks," I said, giving her my best smile before walking back to my car.

I got back to my car and upon checking my phone, found a text from Evan.

Jackass: Meet at the restaurant? Had to do a couple things.

I stared at the message for a while, wondering if he would actually show up. I wanted to say I wasn't going but my guilt hit me too hard because of his mom so I sent back a message telling him I was headed over. He surprised me by actually responding fast and saying he was on his way too.

I got in the car and drove to the restaurant, trying to make sense of at least one single thing happening right now. It was apparently a day full of things that didn't make any sense because Evan was there before me, waiting at a table with a bottle of my favorite wine. It felt like a trap.

I sat across from him and he smiled, grabbing my glass and filling it with wine before setting it in front of me.

"Last night you were worried I was an alcoholic and today you're giving me wine?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Last night I was annoyed and handled it poorly," he said, taking a sip from his glass.

"Annoyed with me?" I repeated.

"Yes," he nodded. "For drinking that much at the event. There were a lot of photographers there."

"Right. Don't want to ruin that perfect image," I muttered, picking up my water and taking a sip.

"You don't want the wine?" He frowned.

Of course I did, but I did just faint outside my therapist's office so drinking was definitely not a good idea. "I'm not in the mood," I shrugged.

"Oh," he frowned. "I ordered the chicken marsala for you and the stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer," he informed me, reaching for a breadstick.

"Thanks," I said, narrowing my eyes. That was my favorite.

This was definitely a trap. He must want something big from me. Some stupid event. Possibly one that required travel. He kept giving me nervous glances but didn't say anything. The silence felt even worse.

"So... What's going on with you?" He asked, clasping his hands together.

"What's going on with me," I repeated in a deadpan tone. I couldn't remember the last time he asked me anything about myself.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "What's going on in your life? Any new interests? TV shows? Music?"

I sighed and drank the rest of my water before leaning forward, meeting his gaze. "Can you just cut to the chase?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, frowning.

"I know you want something from me," I said, setting my glass down. "I just don't know what it is. So stop the small talk and just tell me whatever it is you're afraid I'll say no to."

"I don't have anything I want from you," he said, reaching across the table and pouring more water in my glass.

"Right," I scoffed, gesturing to my glass as he filled it. "Clearly."

"I mean it, Koralie," he frowned. "I just want to have dinner with you. No strings."

"There's always strings," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"Not tonight," he said quietly, breaking eye contact.

I took a sip from my drink and watched as he continued looking at me nervously. I hadn't seen him like this in years. It must be big. I didn't buy him wanting to spend time with me. He stopped wanting to spend time with me a long time ago.

Our food was brought out and we ate quietly. At least the food was good, even if the company wasn't. I had to put my eyes somewhere so I watched their live pianist while I ate. He was good. Not as good as the woman that was here before.

"He's not as good as Maggie," Evan said.

"No," I agreed. "He's good though. I wonder where she went."

"She's pregnant."

"What?" I asked, snapping my eyes to him. "Did her and her girlfriend do a sperm donor thing?"

He looked amused. I hadn't seen him amused in a long time.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Turns out, the girlfriend was just a thing she was doing to piss off her parents and she'd been sleeping with the girlfriend's brother for a while."

"I called that," I said, my eyes widening. "Didn't I call that? Remember? Whose birthday was that?"

"Carla's," he chuckled.

"Right. Carla. I saw them making eyes at each other and I called it," I said, shaking my head.

"You did," he smiled. "I remember."

"God, poor Mimi," I said, frowning. "How did you find out?"

"Mimi. I ran into her at the store last week. She's all right. She hated her brother and she wasn't happy with Carla. She actually is already with someone else."

"Don't tell me," I said, holding out a hand. "Deidra."

He chuckled again and nodded.

"I knew it!"

I shook my head, staring at the new pianist, unable to stop the smile forming. I could always tell when people were into each other. I should've been a love guru.

"It's been a long time since I've seen that," Evan said.

"What?" I asked, bringing my eyes back to him.

"Your smile."

Coherent words would not form in my head. I just stared at him. What did he just say?

"It's nice to see it. Your smile was the reason I finally worked up the nerve to ask you out at the park that day," he said, staring at me in a strange way.

I had no response to that so I just focused on eating and looking literally anywhere else in the restaurant than at him. That was the end to our talking. We ate the last of our food in silence and he didn't speak again until we were outside, parting ways for our cars.

"See you at home," he said with a smile.

I nodded and rushed off to my car, feeling very confused. I was anxious about going home for a different reason than usual. I got home before him and took up a spot on the couch, grabbing a book and hoping he'd take that as a hint to leave me alone. He walked in but much to my chagrin, he came into the room instead of going to his office like he usually did.

"The lease is up in a few weeks," he said, laying his jacket across the back of the couch.

"I know," I nodded, not looking up from my book.

I felt him sink into the couch next to me and looked up, finding him staring at me again.

"What?" I asked, feeling self-conscious. He couldn't see my hickey, could he? I pulled my hair to the side it was on.

"I was wondering if you wanted to stay in this house," he said, gesturing around. "Now that I make more money we could move to a bigger place. You wouldn't have to keep the pool table in the garage, we could have a room for it."

Lowering my book, I raised my eyebrows and stared at him. Did he actually think I'd move in somewhere with him? I hadn't told him my plans to leave at the end of the month but he knew I was leaving soon.

He couldn't be that stupid. He graduated with honors.

"What do you think?" He asked.

No, he actually could be that stupid.

"Evan, I'm not moving into a new house with you," I sighed. "Once the lease is up... That's it."

"What do you mean?" He asked, frowning.

"I mean," I paused, taking in a shaky breath. "I'm getting my own place when the lease is up."

He seemed genuinely surprised. How could he be? I'd been saying I was leaving for five months.

"I don't understand," he frowned, looking down.

"What did you think was going to happen?"

"I thought... I don't know," he muttered. "I thought we'd find a way to work it out."

"That's because you weren't listening to me," I said, closing my book and looking at him seriously. "I'm only here because my name is on the lease. You can't buy me."

"You can't just go live somewhere without me," he said, shaking his head.

"Yes I can and I'm going to," I said, opening my book again.

"No," he said, pulling my book down. "How do you plan to pay for it? I won't give you the money."

"I don't want your money," I scoffed, setting my book down as this clearly wasn't going to be fast. "I have my own."

"From what?"

"From my job," I sighed, folding my hands in my lap.

"Job?" He asked, frowning.

"Besides helping your dad out like I always have, I've been doing contract translator work for the last four and a half months."

"You..." He trailed off, looking hurt.

He was hurt. That's funny.

"I can't believe you were doing that behind my back," he said narrowing his eyes at me.

"It wasn't behind your back," I said, shaking my head. "I didn't lie about it. I didn't hide it. I've done it out in the open with you here more than once. You literally walked in on me yesterday on the phone with a client."

"I didn't think about it," he said, frowning.

Shocking. I shrugged and reached for my book but he stopped me, leaning forward and kissing me. I jerked back, pushing him away, even more revolted by him than I was before.

"What the hell?" I hissed, wiping off my mouth.

"I know it's been a while but I still love you. We can make this work. Today with my mom... It just reminded me how good a team we are, the reasons I fell in love with you in the first place. I always loved the good heart you have, the way you make everyone feel so special and loved, the gentleness you have. I want that back," he said, scooting closer to me.

"No," I said, rising from the couch and backing away. "No. You don't get to pick me up and drop me whenever you feel like it."

"Kora, I need you," he said, standing.

"You need me for your perfect little image," I spat.

"No. I need you for more than that," he said reaching for me. "Can't we try something? What about couples counseling? I'm sure Cynthia could help us-"

"Counseling isn't going to erase the way you've treated me," I said, backing away from his touch. He would never touch me again. "It went too far. There's no coming back from our shit," I snapped, snatching my book and heading for the stairs.

"Kora, please. Don't just end things like this," he pleaded. "At least try with me until the lease is up. We'll go on dates and I'll be better. I promise I will. I still want you," he said, following me up the stairs and to the bedroom door.

"Well, I don't want you anymore," I said, turning on my heels to glare at him. "You broke us. You abandoned me in one of the hardest times of my life, you cheated on me during that time and God knows how many other times. You've barely looked at me in two years unless it was at one of your precious events. I don't want you anymore. You lost your hold on me and you're not fucking getting it back."

I walked in the bedroom and slammed the door. He knocked but I ignored it, grabbing the chair from my vanity and bracing the door before going to the bed and pulling a pillow over my head so I wouldn't have to hear him.

Saying the words out loud hurt more than I thought they would. Not because I loved him. Not because of anything other than it hurt to be discarded so easily. It took me back to how broken I was in that time when he never showed up to any of my treatments. To when I had to call and pay a stranger to pick me up from the hospital because he didn't show and my friends and his parents were out of town. To when I walked in after throwing up in our front yard from my treatments and found him fucking the maid. To all the times he made me feel like I was nothing.

I didn't want to wait until the end of the month. I wanted out of there now.

A/N: 

Heyyy all happy Friday!! I hope you had a great week ❤ Guesss what Hunted is already getting pretty close to 4K reads!!! After only 4 chapters, I can't believe it!! Thank you so much! ❤ Drop a comment to let me know what you thought of this chapter 😁

Hmmm... Kora's a little in denial but really, can we blame her? I would also be feeling a little crazy at this point

What'd you guys think of her therapist?

Well, we saw a brief glimpse into what Kora and Evan closer to normal, how much did you hate that scene? 😂

Did anyone else want to punch Evan when he kissed Kora?

Okay but how about the way she stood up to him?

I had a great birthday, thanks for the birthday wishes!! ❤

Okay so I did go ahead and make a Patreon (don't worry, I'm still definitely going to finish the books I've started here), so if you want to/are able to pledge on there, you can find me by a search of me penname or at the link on my bio. DM me if you have any questions about what you get going over to Patreon ❤

Okay loves, have a great weekend and I'll see you next week! ❤