As he lay on the small cot in his room, his thoughts were consumed by Claire. He could still feel the weight of her words, the raw emotions that had spilt from her heart. Her pain had become his pain, and her suffering had left an indelible mark on his soul. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, to tell her that she was safe now, that he would protect her with his very life. But the silence between them was deafening, and doubt began to creep into Jamie’s mind. The fear of losing her gnawed at him relentlessly. The mere thought of being apart from her sent a searing pain through his body as if someone had delivered a heavy blow to his gut. Claire was the centre of his world, his heart, his soul. She had become his anchor, grounding him in the stormy seas of life. The idea of losing her, even in the slightest way, was unbearable.