han

blestones like veins. The house itself looked smaller than I remembered, but the wraparound porch, the creaky front gate, the faint scent of honeysuckle drifting from

ied with the price I offered, and the transfer procedures were completed within two weeks. They handed me the keys with warm smil

l in his tailored charcoal suit, tie loosened just a notch. We hugged each other excitedly-two old friends reunited aft

p into a regional powerhouse, how I had spent the past few years building my own consulting firm abroad. We laughed at old photos

that hovered in the a

rie

able in every way I remembered. He used to brag about her straight A's and protect her from any boy who came too close. I sensed

ice clink against the amber whi

y tone perfectly light-the kind of offhand question you'd ask after a long catch‑up with an old friend, just

nt he heard her name. His grip on his glass

"She's run off to live with some penniless good‑for‑nothing. A guy

ming, so warm and bright; of course I wasn't the only man who had dreamed of her every night for the past

ur drinks, and as we parted outside the bar, Caleb looked me straigh

be with that bastard, I'

serious? I thought you were the type to lock your precio

ere kids. "You're right-I don't want any man near my precious sister. That bastard

d watched this busy man-who had to get back to the office for an evening confer

e would be on another man's arm, and I would smile and shake his hand and pretend it didn't hurt. This was the ending I had long anticipated. I didn't regret coming back for her, even if i

o, I suddenly got

oice came through the speaker, strange and tense, stripped of his usu

meeting with my team. I excused myself, stepped out into

happ

abrielle had been discarded like a piece of outdated furniture-all because her ex‑boyfriend, that Vance character, wanted a richer bride with better con

ve urge I had buried so deep I had almost forgotten it existed. In that moment, I wanted to find this Vance and punch him so

reassuring him-and myself at the same time. "She's strong

w, I knew one thing for certain: I was not going to stay on the si