I spent three hours in my room, staring at my phone, watching the deadline tick closer.
Two hours left. Then one. Then thirty minutes.
I’d made my decision an hour ago, if I was being honest. Maybe even before that. Maybe the moment Noah had asked me not to leave. Maybe when Adrian kissed me that first time. Maybe even when I’d crashed my car and he’d opened the door.
I wasn’t taking Vivian’s money.
I wasn’t leaving.
This was real. Messy and complicated and terrifying, but real. And I’d spent three years with Marcus running from real, settling for safety and control and ultimately soul-crushing.
I wasn’t doing that again.
So I’d stay. I’d fight. I’d figure out how to navigate Adrian’s world and Vivian’s attacks and all the impossibility of loving someone this damaged and difficult.
