In my memory, Austin had never seemed as desperate and pitiful as he did now.
I spoke with an unsettling calmness:
“Austin, stop struggling. There’s no shame in admitting you’ve fallen out of love.”
“I believe you truly loved me once, but the fact is, you’ve changed. You don’t love me anymore.”
He cut me off, panic flashing across his face:
“No! That’s not true! I still love you—Aria, please, you
