Cedric knew that he was lying to himself and pretending, but he deemed it necessary to sever his connection with Marisol.

He convinced himself that he was doing it for her. Ever since Marisol had arrived at Redwood, she’d had every and all of her decisions made for her and Cedric did not want to be a part of that any more than he already was.

He’d heard the longing and desperation in her voice when she told him that she wanted to go home more than anything. He couldn’t be so selfish as ...