The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 212

The woman in the photo was a complete stranger. She didn’t have striking looks, but something about her seemed soft and well-behaved, maybe even a little shy.

A sweet, gentle smile played on her lips, a small dimple appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Franco stood beside her, his hair trimmed short, his features sharp and a little severe. Still, there was a hint of warmth in his smile that softened the usual chill in his face.

Their shoulders nearly touched, the bright red backdrop making it look like an official wedding portrait.

Staring at it, Petty felt her unease gather into a blurry realization. The picture explained too much. No wonder Franco knew about the islands nearby. No wonder he seemed so at home here. The woman’s clothes in the closet made sense now—of course they belonged to the woman in the photo. They’d lived together here. That feeling hit her hard the second the thought clicked.

Just as that truth washed over her, the door behind her creaked open.

Petty jumped, her concentration slipping. The photo slid out of her hand and fell to the floor.

Franco’s dark eyes lingered on her face, reading her confusion and the flicker of panic in her gaze. When he spotted the photo on the ground, his brows drew together. He crossed the room in a few easy strides.

Petty tried to collect herself, squatting to pick up the picture, but a dull ache in her back made her slow, and Franco’s hand—long fingers, graceful and steady—reached it first.

“Was this taken when you were in the army?” The words spilled out before Petty realized how shaky her voice sounded.

Franco had joined the army at eighteen. She’d been thirteen at the time.

She remembered being seven, back when he’d pulled her out of a bathroom locked by bullies at school. The crush that had started then had only gotten deeper when Franco left Cabinda years later.

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