th birthday. It was also

the air. The polished wooden urn felt cold and impersonal in my hands, a stark contrast to the war

a single text from my husband, Ethan Miller. He wasn't here. He hadn't been

t that had nothing to do with grief and everything to do with

that never felt like a home. The oversized mansion was silent, a monument to wealth and loneliness. Just as I

han. It was

ing up?" Her voice was a lifel

shed began to well up. "I'm oka

up, but I want you to think about it. Come stay with me. Leave that plac

him that I had chosen to ignore for five years. I looked around the vast, empty fo

I stayed for, the reason I endured

t the decision felt like a steel rod straight

phone. "Oh, Lily. That's the best

he words tasting strange and new on

nd for the first time in a very long time, a flicker o

quiet. My breath caught in my throat. It was Ethan' s sports car, its roar unmistakab

on to walk in wasn't my husband, but his sister, Chloe Miller. She smi

ith disdain. She glanced at my simple black dress. "Stil

gaze fixed on the

s just helping Sarah with her bags. You should be grateful. If it wer

d hung in the air betw

sh across her face. "Of course. Did yo