Chapter 17

• Jake***
• I didn’t expect it to be this bad. Not this time.
• I knew Belle had been through hell before we met, but this? This was different. I wasn’t ready for how deep it went. The way she trembles in my arms, like her past is trying to pull her away from me. Every breath she takes is a reminder of how little I can do to help. I hold her tighter, but it’s like holding onto glass—she’s slipping through my fingers. I feel helpless.