elt tilted, unreal. I had to talk to her. Not for an explanation I knew w

and went straight to the front doo

scene in

ed into something cold and guarded. Mark shot up from the c

?" Sarah' s voice was sharp, ac

I gestured vaguely toward the baby

forward, his face a mask of false co

is Sarah' s house. I' ve been walking in that

wer, I heard another

y boy! Is

into a wide, honest grin. He hadn't seen

ou say you were coming?" H

," I said, my eyes locked on S

boomed, clapping me on the back. "The

aged to say, the words fe

Ethan's back!" he sa

tight smile. "W

his great? The three of you, all to

eathe. I had to get out. I couldn't stan

pulling away gently. "I just wanted to stop by

r room is still here,

y," I insisted, my voice cracking slig

elief on Sa

pulled away from the curb, I glanced in my rearview mirror. I saw them standing on the porch. Mr. Jenkins looked confu

the room before the facade shattered. The grief hit me like a physical for

tory was an epic. It turned out to be a footnote in hers. She hadn' t just chosen someone else.

ved in forever. I wept for the future that had been stolen from me. I wept for th

t the screen, a fresh wave of anger washing over me. I let it ring,

you wan

th feigned innocence, as if she were the one who had bee

, a harsh, broken sound. "You

worried about you. Are you

he was pretending nothing had happened. She was going to act like the baby in

y voice dripping with a sarc

her tone softening into one of practiced sympathy. "We sh

letting her spi

ace. She was wearing it today, too. But now, I noticed a small, silver ring threaded onto it, resting just at

of it was