always known as quiet and distant, had crossed the room in three quick strides a

instant," Mr. Thompson thundered, his vo

d from his furious grandfather to his grandmother, who was weeping silen

his grandfather

"I' m... sorry." It was sullen,

didn' t need to. Her quiet refusal was more powerful than any shout. She looked at Liam, not as a mother looks at a

ompson family behind her. The drive back to her grandmother' s was silent. She d

reation, the joy of seeing a design come to life. She had given it all up for a man who had discarded her like trash. She would never make that mistake again. She made a call to Ethan Miller, a for

g on the front door. Ava looked through the peephole to see Mark

oor! We need to t

beside Ava. "You don' t

kept the security chain on. "This is not your

ten to me!" he said, his voice

bored and resentful, a living co

perty in one minute, I will call the polic

final, desperate act of manipulation, he did something Ava never could have

im!" Mark spun on his heel, strode to his car, and sped

ality of his situation began to dawn on him. He was abandoned. He kno

lay injured in a hospital bed. She thought of the boy who had blocked her number, who had shoved her and called her pathetic. The matern

e her grandmother was waiting. The knocking continued for a wh

hould have ached, should have felt a pang of pity. But she felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was like watching a stranger' s misfortune from a great distanc