GABRIELLE’S POV
Damon didn’t come back home that night.
I tried not to think too much of it, but every hour that passed made the house feel bigger… and colder.
I’d have spent my time with Lila but she didn’t even want to speak to me anymore. I didn’t see myself as her stepmother.
I never did.
I didn’t want to fill a role that wasn’t meant for me. So I called her my friend instead—someone I could laugh with, and someone I could care for without crossing lines.
Maybe if I had taken the stepmother route things would have been different.
I exhaled and pulled the blanket higher over my shoulder, trying to chase away the sting sitting behind my ribs.
The bed felt too big without Damon beside me, and too empty without Lila’s little footsteps running past the door.
For the second tim
