Love Rents A Room
Chapter 152: The Hug

Chapter 152: The Hug

Joanne brought the dinner over from Patrick’s, placing each container gently on the table. The food was still warm, and she told herself that Jeffrey wouldn’t be long now.

Valerie had just called, filling her in on everything that was happening at the office. She mentioned Jeffrey was buried in paperwork, going through files like a man possessed. Joanne smiled at that—he always got that intense when something mattered to him. But when she hung up, the smile slowly faded.

Because that text. That photo.

She hadn’t told Valerie. She wasn’t sure she could talk about that to anyone. But she and Jeffrey needed to talk about it, didn’t they?

Just then, the familiar sound of tires crunching on gravel broke the stillness. Her heart stuttered.

Jeffrey walked up the path with heavy steps. His usual bounce was gone. No spark lit his eyes when he looked at her, no crooked smile that made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

He stopped at the foot of the porch stairs, standing still, his hands at his sides, staring at her like she was a stranger.

Joanne opened the door wider and offered her usual smile. "Jeffrey... Aren’t you coming inside?"

She kept her tone light, gentle, but her heart was hammering. The way he was looking at her—distant, conflicted—it sent a sharp pang through her chest.

Had that woman reached out to him too?

Did something happen?

Jeffrey didn’t say a word. He walked in quietly, brushing a hand over the small of her back like always, but the touch was absent-minded. Hollow. No kiss. No warmth.

He went straight upstairs to freshen up, leaving her standing in the hallway, clutching the edge of her sleeve. She blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay.

She set the table, arranging the dishes like she always did. Fork to the left. Napkin folded just so. She poured water into their glasses and sat down, waiting.

When he returned, he took his seat and began eating in silence.

No conversation. No glances.

Just the scrape of cutlery against ceramic and the low hum of the evening wind pressing against the windows.

Joanne chewed slowly, her throat too tight to swallow. The silence felt like it had weight, like it was settling between them like a fog, thick and cold.

He wasn’t angry. He wasn’t distant out of habit.

He was somewhere else.

And she was too scared to ask where.

After the meal, without a word, he began clearing the dishes. He didn’t even glance her way as he moved around the kitchen, rinsing and stacking everything like it was part of some routine he didn’t have to think about.

Joanne sat frozen in her chair, fingers clenched around her napkin.

What if he was just building up the courage to tell her?

What if she was right? What if that woman had said something to him, done something? And now, he was preparing to tell her he was going back to his ex?

What if...

She didn’t want to finish that thought.

But the silence between them was filling with all the words she was terrified to hear.

Jeffrey stepped out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a dish towel, his expression carved from stone—calm, composed, but with a kind of haunted finality behind his eyes.

There was something different about him. A quiet resolve.

Joanne’s breath caught in her chest.

Her heart pounded, wild and erratic, like it wanted to climb out of her ribs and run.

She had never felt this unsure in her life. Not even when everything else had fallen apart.

Because this—him—he had become her anchor. Her home.

And now...

She swallowed hard.

All her life, she believed that if something was meant for her, it would find its way. She wasn’t lucky—never had been—but she had grit. If she had to claw through fire and ruin to hold on to what mattered, she would. She had.

But this?

You couldn’t claw your way into someone’s heart.

If it wasn’t hers to hold, she’d lose it.

And she wasn’t sure she could bear that. Not again. Not with him.

She wanted to run away, never wanting to face this. She had never felt the urge to run away this strongly. Well, she did try to run away from the wedding, but other than that...

No, she couldn’t run away. Where would she run to? This was her home and he was her... everything.

She was not going to leave without a fight this time. He could not run away silently without answering her first.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word, she shot to her feet, the napkin fluttering from her lap to the floor like a white flag of surrender.

Her eyes met his—sharp and glistening.

"Do you want to go back to her?" she asked, her voice raw and trembling.

Jeffrey blinked, stunned. He took a step toward her, but she shook her head. Her throat bobbed as she fought the lump rising in it.

"You’ve been quiet all night," she whispered, voice cracking. "You haven’t looked at me...not like you usually do. You came in like a stranger."

Tears welled up and finally spilled over, trailing down her cheeks unchecked. She couldn’t stop now.

"After everything... all the things you’ve done for me... making me feel safe again, making me believe you’re in love with me... making me think you’d stay—forever—"

She broke off, her voice shattering under the weight of her pain.

"You made me fall in love with you," she whispered. "And now you’re just going to leave?"

She lowered her head, shoulders trembling, the silence stretching between them like the edge of a blade.

But before she could crumble to the floor in grief, Jeffrey closed the distance in a single, desperate stride.

He wrapped his arms around her, fierce and full, pulling her against him like he could put all her broken pieces back together with the strength of his embrace.

It wasn’t gentle. It was desperate. Absolute.