Living without Michelle wasn't the hell Danny thought it was going to be.
It was worse.
Every night, as he tried in vain to sleep, he was tortured by dreams of their time at the cabin. When he shut his eyes, she was there, lying in his arms, a smile on his face. He'd taken to sleeping with the TV on in the hopes that it would drown out the memory of Michelle sighing his name in his ear.
The days were easier. He threw himself into work. He'd already increased the family's profit from their business in Spain by 25 percent. Carmen was delighted.
"It's good to have you back where you belong, Daniel." she'd told him during their last phone conversation. Danny had remained silent, staring at a picture of his wedding day. He knew it was masochistic to bring it with him, but he couldn't help it.
He had a guy watching Michelle, making sure she was safe. The man, Greg something-or-other, was a good guy. He had no ties to the family and answered only to Danny.
According to Greg, Michelle was safe and seemed happy. He reported that she seemed to spend a lot of time with her family, Drew, and Bill. Jesse seemed to be out of the picture. For some reason, that pleased Danny. He didn't know why. After all, if he couldn't have her, why shouldn't Jesse? But he was glad to know that Jesse was no longer around just the same.
Danny wondered if Michelle missed him as much as he missed her. If she woke from dreams of him and automatically reached for his hand beside her in bed. If she had stopped caring if she lived or died. God knows he had.
Danny sat back in his chair and rubbed his tired eyes. It had been three months now. Three months of this agony. He took another sip of scotch. He drank too much now and he knew it. But what did it matter? Who did he need his health for?
Again, he pulled his wedding photo out of his desk drawer and traced his bride's features. Sweet, beautiful Michelle, smiling at him, sharing a private joke.
Danny's lowered his head into his hands.
"How am I going to live without you, Michelle?" he whispered. "And why should I even try?"