INICIAR SESIÓN“It would be,” he insists. “If you and Dad got married. Then you’d be our mom and you could stay.”My heart twists. Where and when did they even come up with that? I know they want me to stay, but Noah and me? That’s something that will never happen. Not ever. Marriage isn’t even a distant possibili
SIERRA.The drive to my mom’s place is quiet. I’m in an Uber since the insurance company is still processing my claim, which, by the way, makes no sense. Why are they painfully slow when it comes to payouts but lightning-fast when it’s time to remind you to renew your insurance?I lean my head again
Sierra brought that light back into their eyes. She was what they looked forward to and now, without her, I’m terrified that all the progress they made will unravel.I stroke Nova’s hair and murmur, “I know. I’m sorry.”They don’t respond. They just cling to me, as if I’m the only thing keeping the
NOAH.The door closes.She doesn’t slam it in my face, and for some reason, that feels worse. If she had slammed it, I could’ve read it as anger, something loud, something temporary. But this quiet closing feels final. Like she’s closing a chapter... And that makes my heart sink.I stand there a sec
It doesn’t help. Nothing I say or do seems capable of making them accept that I can’t stay, no matter how much they want me to.I swallow hard and reach into my bag.“I have something for you.”I pull out two small velvet boxes.Nova sniffles as I open the first one. Inside lies the diamond necklace
Noah is quiet for a long moment. His eyes staring at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. The silence stretches, until I start to wonder if he’s even still standing there. I sit down and keep folding clothes, keep my hands busy because if I stop, I might break.Finally, he speaks.“There’s not
“Hey Ro, I’m glad you came.” Kate kisses both of my cheeks. “Yeah” it’s the only response I can master, given that I’m not really glad to be here. She gets distracted by my parents, and I see that as my chance to slip away. I head straight to my brother. “How are things going?” he asks after the
Everything Lilly said lingers in my head. Her question keeps replaying like a broken record. She wrong. So, fucking wrong.I mean, how can I not have loved Chloe? We broke up a couple of times, but we always got back together. We always ended up mending things. If that wasn’t love, then what was?If
I grin at her. We find one pretty quickly and soon enough, we are settled. Our food arrive about ten minutes later. We basically ordered the same thing. Fries, burger, chicken wings and milkshakes. Our conversation flows easily. We don’t talk about anything important. We joke, we eat and have a fu
Before I can react, a warm hand lands at the small of my back. “Watch it,” Noah mutters, his voice low and edged with quiet warning as he pulls me half a step closer, away from the crowd. The contact is barely a second. A single point of heat. But my breath stutters. He doesn’t even look at me, j







