over. Back at the house, she made herself a simple sandwich and ate it standing in her kitchen, enjoying the solitude. The house was hers again, q

his low voice and Sophia' s higher, more insistent tones. Ava stayed in her room, but the sound carried. "Li

ined. "It's almost over, Soph. Just a

ecides to leave on her own terms? You need

tion before, caught in snippets over the years. It no longer h

e displayed. She took them down, one by one, and carefully wrapped them in paper, placing

jump. It was Liam. "Ava? Ca

xhausted, his tie loosened, his

the bookshelf. A flicker of panic crossed hi

voice neutral. She wouldn't give him the

to her room, a space he rarely entered. He was close enough now that she could s

ghost of an attraction, a purely physical response to his proximity. It was an unwel

long?" She saw Ava, and her expression hardened into a venomous glare. She stormed into the room, shov

it. The diagnosis was circled in red ink: "Diminished Ovarian Reserve." Below it, a doctor'

You are the one who doesn't belong here." She lunged at Ava, grabbing for the box of awards on the bed, her nails digging