Chapter 169

Lake POV

“You don’t have to,” Troy assured me. “You can stay here as long as you need. Rhodes and I have a guest room. You and Ollie can stay, no questions asked.”

“Rhodes is Ramon’s brother,” I said. “Won’t he—won’t he want me to go back? To talk to Ramon?”

“Rhodes is a doctor first,” Troy said. “And more than that, he’s a decent person. He’s not going to force you into a situation you’re not ready for. Neither am I.”

Relief flooded through me. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Troy, thank you so much. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“You can always come here,” Troy said firmly. “Lake, you’re not alone. You have people who care about you, who want to help. And right now, what you need is space and time to process. So that’s what we’ll give you.”

We sat in silence for a while, Troy’s presence steady and calming beside me. From the playroom, I could hear the kids playing—Ollie’s voice mixing with Sophia’s and Julian’s, sounding more normal than it