Beyond Forgiveness

After breakfast, Valerie drank a few glasses of warm water so that she would sweat.

She returned to her bed and quickly fell asleep.

In her bleary state, she felt a warm palm on her cheek.

She mumbled something under her breath and opened her eyes.

Donovan was sitting by the bed. He had removed his suit jacket, and Valerie could tell he had lost some weight in his white shirt.

He looked as though