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 ha
