Deirdre was moved into silence. Her tongue failed her, and it took her minutes to recover her voice finally. “Tobey, I… I’m not worth it.”

She did not deserve his concern. She was a hideous, blind, formerly-incarcerated ticking time bomb whose very presence could spell trouble at any time. She did not deserve to be with a man whose life was on the ascent.

Tobey’s tone darkened. “Don’t you dare look down on yourself, Deirdre. Or was that a dig at my romantic preferences?”

Deirdre fell silent.

“You want me to tell you the ugly truth? Okay,” he added. “Truth is, I’m taking advantage of the current you. You’re at your most vulnerable, a lonely soul crying out for companionship and a place to belong. I’m merely seizing this moment. You know why? Because I know that even now, even when it seems like I’m at the height of my life, I don’t measure up to even a fragment of the blinding splendor you used to emanate.”

Deirdre had always been their school’s brightest star. Her destitute fami