Emma couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so conflicted—so torn between what her heart wanted and what her mind was telling her to do. Liam’s presence was like a storm raging inside her, stirring up feelings she had long buried. Every part of her screamed to trust him again, to believe that he could be the man he once was—the man she had fallen in love with. But the secrets. The lies. They lingered, hovering like shadows at the edges of her thoughts. Was she making a mistake? Was it possible to go back to the way things were before everything fell apart? She leaned against the window, staring out at the rain that had begun to fall, the droplets tracing delicate paths down the glass. The world outside was dark and uncertain, just like the storm raging inside her. Behind her, the

