oyed by Ava' s c

r dinner. Cook made your... well, she made my f

hadn't made an

her autoimmune condition, were an in

staying,"

, darling. Of course, you'll stay. We need

he dining room, a gentle pre

, it was as

den stew was se

was placed before A

notice, or pr

on was enti

ecounted her "ordeal" at the

her wine glass, his eyes full of

em, a dull ach

, Julian seemingly attentive to her, but a

ance, a pri

being polite to her siste

nd she

tion was, in some ways, worse t

foolish. Julian was

harade, only streng

d to g

lence, her voice

ffice tomorrow. There are s

al papers she needed to sign were for her

rised. "The city offic

matters," Ava said

d, his tone implying it was non-negotiable. "Yo

maintain contro

That would be helpfu

let him ac

r old life one last time, while she wa

ity hall, where she'd file

was almost

Julian was all s

sted on

the city center

nor, her vo

o. Her ankle! It looks terrible! Your father is useless, and

s face

my way,

expression a mixture

Liv... you know how s

es from the city hall, in a

b from here? I re

ng the car around be

y, back towards Liv, back

s she needed to sign, what "per

ve a few more miles to ensure

by Liv, he didn't s

s just a short d

gain, just short of a place

sm wasn't l

al, bitter c

utterly alone

was the greatest gift