house still smell

a bright yellow butterfly across the freshly mowed lawn. He was two years old,

his arms around her waist. He rested his chin

s voice a low rumble against her

e corrected him softly, lea

ing, this move was about more than just a bigger house. It was about peace. It was about leaving the ghosts of a different city behind a

ognized them instantly, even after all these years. Her aunt, a woman s

is easy-going tone shifting slightly as he

, her voice flat.

ng in the large, modern house with undisguised assessment.

ighborhood! What a surprise!" her au

Ava agreed, not movi

n into Ethan Hayes's mother at the country club the other

ayes. Heir to the Hayes tech conglomerate, her college

on, ignoring Ava's cold expression. "You know, you two were the per

to announce their engagement. Instead, he had stood on a stage, taken the microphone, and with their mutual friend, Chloe Davis, clinging to his arm, he an

"His mother said he' s not happy with Chloe. Even on the day he announced their engagement, he

a strange sense of calm. The storm that had once

m a small, p

said, her voice even. "But I thin

d so they could see him clearly. "This is my h

ere Leo had finally caught up to the b

t's our

ir eyes widened, darting from Liam's protective arm around Ava's wa

r the wealthy heir, was a photograph from a forgotten alb