Chapter 61

EMILIA

It hurts. God, it hurts to hear her say that.

But I also know exactly what it’s like to love someone who never chooses you.

And I think of Liam, who I can never choose. My chest twists and that wound he left starts stinging again.

So I take a breath and say the only thing I can.

“…Okay.”

“Can we please talk about this mess now?”

I hear a loud thud, like something heavy just hit her desk. Yep—she’s definitely in her home office. Because Tessa, unlike normal human beings, thinks stress is a hobby and work is therapy.

Sometimes, I wonder if she throws herself into work because she’s chasing the stable life her dad never gave her…

Or if it’s just her way of coping—trying to fill the emptiness he left behind when he made her feel like she was never enough.

“What the hell happened?” she snaps. “I swear to God, I’m going to kill that bastard.”

I pause, chewing on my bottom lip. There’s no easy way to say this. No cute