ridiculous, Ava. You were meant for more t

a brand. He still saw me as an extension

lied, turning towards my cottage door. "Now,

rm. "Darling, perhaps we should go. It seems Ava has...

ve. We had an agreement. A life planned." He wa

them. "You ended that agreement, Ethan. R

d into my mind. "You' re a liability, Ava. A stain on our reputation. Sophia is a far more suitable match." Hi

' s crocodile tears, had stood by him. Only Mr. Prescott Sr., his grandfather, had looked at me with a fl

e I' d known since my mother became the Prescott' s hous

vers. The engagement had felt like a fair

e and whispered vulnerabilities. Ethan, always susceptible to a damsel in distress, had fallen for it

was the obvious suspect. Ethan' s rage had been terrifying. He' d smashed the music box, my mother' s gift, its

every door in our shared social circle wa

ir. Buster' s illness, his eventual death in my arms because I couldn' t afford the vet bills after Et

rned, I' d raged, and then, sl

the tremor I felt inside as I relived those dark days. I watched their fac

ard of him. I suppose congratulations a

ching in his jaw. "You' re lying

t you wish, Ethan." I stepped inside my cottage, the scent of baki

t, but shutting it with a quiet f

ed, Sophia whispering furiously in his ear. Then, they got back into th

out a breath I hadn' t realized I w

an stepped out, his tall frame exuding a quiet confidence. He was considera

beyond a polite nod at family gatherings. Julian, however, had always seen me. He' d

me out after hearing whispers of my exile. He' d offered friendship

ve?" he asked, his gaze se

his embrace. "Ethan an

tightened aro

married," I said,

the truth, after all." He kissed my forehead. "L

e, my garden, and my thriving vlog, "American Hearth & Hand,"

ty that valued authenticity. I was no longer the broken girl Ethan had dis