Chapter 88

Emily’s POV

The silence between us stretched out. It was brittle and heavy.

Ava sat across from me, her fingers knotted together so tightly her knuckles were white.

Whatever she was hiding wasn’t small. It wasn’t just a little secret or stress from work.

No, the look in her eyes told me it was the kind of secret that could shift the ground under all of us.

“Ava,” I said again, softer this time, careful like I was approaching a wounded animal. “Talk to me, please.”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. She opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again.

The flicker of fear in her gaze made my stomach turn.

“I…” She broke off, dragging in a sharp breath.

“Emily, I don’t even know how to say it.”

“Start anywhere,” I coaxed. “You’re scaring me more by not saying anything.”

Her eyes shimmered with something dangerously close to tears. “Promise me you won’t hate me.”

I blinked. “Ava!!!’”

“No, promise.”