Absolutely loving this story, Corrina.
He had to maintain the wall. He had to keep the distance between them. He had to pretend he was OK with 'being friends'.
Because the one thing time hadn't dulled was his irrepressible attraction to the woman he would always love with his whole heart.
That was just heart wrenching. You do an incredible job of bringing the characters to life. I can just picture this pale shadow of Clark.
Bravo.
Feli