Chapter 21

The room went dead silent. No one could believe what they'd just heard.Mateo, especially, looked like he had been struck by lightning. His grip on Milada loosened as he stumbled forward, reaching for Yara's hand.Before he could touch her—SMACK.Timothée swatted his hand away, eyes cold. "Say what you need to say, but keep your hands to yourself."He had zero patience for these people. They'd abandoned Yara, and now they had the audacity to show up acting like parents? From the second they walked in, had they even said one kind word to her?And this Mateo guy—acting all heartbroken, pretending he had feelings for her? Please. He hadn't even bothered to learn about her past before dragging these so-called parents into her life. And now he had the nerve to stand here saying, 'It's been a long time?'What a joke.Timothée didn't hold back, slapping Mateo's wrist hard enough to leave it stinging.Mateo clenched his jaw, barely swallowing a pained hiss. But no matter how much his

Chapter 22

After dealing with Mateo, Yara finally turned to Benjamin, Milada, and Helen. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something—then just sighed.Biologically, they were her family. But honestly? She didn't have the energy to waste on them. Not because they didn't deserve it, but because it wasn't worth it.They'd spent their whole lives only hearing what they wanted to hear. Nothing she said now would change that."Dad. Mom." Her voice was calm. Too calm. "This is the last time I'll call you that. You never saw me as your daughter anyway, so let's make it official. From now on, just pretend you only ever had one child—Helen."She said it like it was nothing, like she was just making casual conversation, but the weight of it hit like a punch.Benjamin's face twisted. "You—! You ungrateful—!" His hand shook as he pointed at her, but the words died in his throat.Milada? She just stood there, frozen. Like she couldn't believe the quiet, obedient daughter they'd ignored for y

Chapter 23

For the first time, Mateo—who used to shield Helen from the slightest inconvenience—just stood there. Silent. Watching. No defense.Helen didn't get it.How could everything change just because they saw Yara once?Before she could make sense of it, the boat drifted farther from Evermeet Isle.***Back on the island, once security had cleared out the unwelcome guests, they boarded their own small boat and left.And as the crowd thinned, one lone figure remained.Steven."Yara," he called out. "Can I come up?"Liam tensed instantly. He knew who this guy was—Steven had visited once before. Yara hadn't exactly welcomed him with open arms, but compared to the disaster that just left, she'd been almost... civil. And that was enough to put Liam on edge.Too many people had been showing up lately, trying to worm their way back into her life. He wasn't about to let anyone take her from him.Yara noticed the way his shoulders tightened and laughed softly. Her fingers traced his palm,

All Chapters of A Heart No Longer Waiting: Chapter 21 - Chapter 23

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23