~TESSA~
We were finally back.
The Bishop mansion caught the late-afternoon light like something out of a painting.
You know.... warm, golden, perfect.
The kind of scene you’d think only existed in memory or probably in movies.
I stepped out of Debbie’s sleek little coupe with shopping bags dangling from both arms and a half-smirk still lingering on my face.
Today had been… wild.
Therapeutic, really.
I’d stood my ground, again. Against Marcus. Against Clara.
Against the version of myself that used to flinch and fold at the first sign of conflict.
And now?
I was floating.
Not because of the designer dress I’d bought. Or the expensive price tags.
But because of how I felt so strong for once.
I rounded the corner toward the backyard, and there he was...
My man... Ryder Bishop.
