open, the fluorescent lights

her head, a dull,

d in, her voic

Miller. You gave

to speak, he

what ha

said gently. "You're very

15th,

o Sarah with the for

could

s ten y

accident that had sup

of quiet suffocation she'd e

t, just before the crash, she' d been numbly going through the m

slicked road, the screec

ing discovery: Ethan and Olivia Cartwright, hi

ised each other, while

glect, Ethan' s emotional energy poured into Oliv

t. Her sec

Ethan could

ve her from

s not walking t

our, his face etched with worry that quickly tu

ired lobbyist whose connections

girl, you frig

but firm, "I'm okay. But I need

chair closer

t marry

plit second. "Not marry Ethan? Sarah, the wedding is pl

r me, Dad. And I'm n

stions in his e

oosing her words carefully. "Marrying him would be a mistake for both

r. He knew her, knew her quiet nature, her tendency

quite different. For the family's legacy, a move towards more ethical ventures. Jacob Stone, leader of a commu

require a marriage.

f hope igniting within her. Oregon. Far

e said, her voice stead

of quiet reflection, each memory of her first

late" or "networking," which usually meant he was with Olivia, soo

, her own projects shelved or downplayed because Ethan'

ge. Ethan' s high school sweetheart, manipulative and needy, fresh from her own brief

en she found the pictures of their secret vow

ely built a separate life, a separate futu

n't quiet at all; it

tion hardened

oston home, the routines of her "old

journalist who had been her college roo

h her phone. "He wants to finalize the guest list for th

one, if he showed up at all. Ol

. "Tell him I'm not feeling up to it today. Suggest he take Olivia to lu

smile spreading across her face.

actical," Sara

full of apologies. Olivia had inde

't worry about it, Etha

face. The patterns were already repeat

ation, led Sarah to the small Italian cafe Oli

t table near the win

bbing her eyes with a handkerchief, her expression one of tragic beauty. Et

m. Her marriage to that local musician had barely lasted a year, ending in a flurry of dra

e leaned in, his expression earnest, compl

life. Olivia's tears, Ethan's unwavering devotion t

g was about to change because Sarah would

er coffee and

were confirming the wi