تسجيل الدخولI already knew who she was going to mention.“Mabel?”“Yes.”My mother closed her eyes briefly.“She came over and sat beside him as if that was exactly where she belonged. David turned towards her immediately, and the way he looked at her told me everything I needed to know.”She shook her head.“I had spent so much time trying to get him to look at me that I had forgotten something important. He had loved Mabel before, and whatever happened between them, he had clearly found his way back to her.”I frowned.“Wait. They got back together?”“They did. Apparently, after a long period apart, they had found their way back to each other. I don't know all the details of how it happened, but by the time I saw them in Florida, they were together again.”She looked at me.“And they were engaged.”I stared at her.“Engaged?”“Yes. David introduced Mabel to me as his fiancée.”She let out a shaky breath.“I remember forcing myself to smile. I congratulated them and tried to act as though the ne
My mother took a deep breath and continued.“After everything that happened with David and Mabel, I tried to focus on my relationship with Darrel. I told myself that perhaps I needed to stop chasing the past and appreciate what I had in front of me. Darrel was a good man, Rosalie. He loved me, he cared about me, and he never gave me a reason to doubt his feelings.”She paused, then a sad smile appeared on her face.“But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get David out of my mind.”I shifted in my seat, listening carefully.“I kept checking on him through mutual friends. I wanted to know how he was doing, whether he was seeing anyone, and whether he had finally moved on from Mabel. I told myself I was only curious, but deep down, I was still waiting for an opportunity to get close to him again.”She shook her head.“Then a year passed, and Darrel proposed to me.”My eyes widened.“He proposed?”“Yes.” She laughed softly, but there was no happiness in the sound. “It was a beautiful
The room suddenly felt too quiet.“We knew David trusted Mabel. He loved her, Rosalie. Maybe not in the same way he had once loved me, but he loved her enough that he was making plans for their future. They were in their final year, and they had talked about moving in together after graduation.”She paused.“They were serious about each other.”I swallowed.“And you wanted to destroy that?”“Yes.”The answer came so quickly that it caught me off guard.My mother lowered her eyes.“We found a guy who had piercing green eyes, just like David's. He wasn't someone Mabel knew well, which made it easier for us to put the plan together. We wanted to create a situation that David wouldn't be able to explain away or forgive.”I felt sick.“You mean…”“We got Mabel drunk.”She stopped for a moment, as if the words themselves were difficult to say aloud.“And then we made sure she ended up alone with that guy. We wanted her to be in a state where she wouldn't be thinking clearly, and we made sur
My mother was quiet for a while before she continued.“After that night, I started paying more attention to David. I wanted to understand what was going on in his head, especially when it came to Mabel. I kept telling myself that he would eventually get tired of chasing her. I mean, how long could a man keep running after a woman who clearly wasn't interested in him?”She shook her head.“But David wasn't like that. The more Mabel rejected him, the more determined he seemed to become. It was almost as if he had made it his life's mission to win her over.”I frowned. “So, what did you do?”“I decided to wait. I thought maybe if I gave him enough time, he would get over her and finally realize that I was still there. I didn't want to make another stupid move like I had at that party. I wanted to be patient and come up with a better plan.”She paused.“But months passed, Rosalie. And David didn't move on. If anything, things got worse.”My mother let out a small, humorless laugh.“One da
My mother took a deep breath before continuing her story. “I wanted revenge on David,” she said. “I wanted him to feel the same pain he had caused me. I wanted him to regret ever leaving me, and I wanted him to know what it felt like to watch someone he loved choose somebody else.” She paused, staring at her hands. “So, I started thinking of a plan. I needed to find a way back into his life, but I couldn't just walk up to him and tell him I wanted him back. He would probably laugh in my face.” She let out a small, bitter laugh. “Looking back now, I was so stupid. I didn't even have a proper plan. I just knew I wanted to hurt him, and I was willing to do almost anything to make that happen.” I listened quietly, trying to imagine my mother at that age. It was strange thinking of her as a young girl who had fallen in love and gotten her heart broken. I had always known her as my mother, someone who was supposed to know better, someone who was supposed to have everything figured out
I grabbed my jacket from the chair and slipped it on before heading out of my room. When I got downstairs, I found David and Noah in the living room. They seemed to be discussing something, but I didn't bother finding out what it was. I simply walked past them. I didn't greet them. I didn't even look in their direction. "Rosalie?" I heard David call my name, but I kept walking. "Rosalie, where are you going?" "I'm going out!" I yelled back as I reached the door. I didn't wait for him to respond. A few minutes later, I was outside, waiting for a cab. Once one arrived, I gave the driver the hospital's address and settled into the back seat. My mind was already racing. What exactly was my mother going to tell me? Why had she suddenly decided she was ready to talk after keeping everyone away for so long? And why did I have a feeling that whatever she was about to say had something to do with David? I leaned back against the seat and stared out the window. I was tired of sec
The first thing I saw was the steady rise and fall of his chest as the morning light filtered through the blinds, painting stripes across Noah. He was still sleeping peacefully beside me and a stupid smile touched my lips. For a second, it just felt… good. Calm.Geez, I shouldn’t be here smiling at
My eyes widened at the words that came out of his mouth. What he said wasn’t what shocked me, it was the way he said that so easily. After holding his stare for a few seconds, I turned to the window. The silence engulfed us, before I decided to break it.“Well, it’s my turn.” I said opening the do
I woke up to a pounding headache that followed me all the way to school. Maybe it was from the lack of sleep as my mind was racing all night. Or maybe from all the tears I’d shed into my pillow.After Noah kissed me yesterday, his hand was trailing down to my breast when he suddenly pulled back and
I continued to walk, burning off all the rage still boiling inside me. Home was the last thing I had in mind. My feet just kept moving until I found myself at the edge of the woods.The lake.The lake that started this whole mess in the first place. If I hadn’t come here that night, I wouldn’t have







