Alec’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel as he recalled how Melissa had stood between him and death earlier that day. She had sacrificed herself, taken the hit, the pain—all for a man who wasn’t even her real father, And now, she sat beside him, silent, tears still glistening in her eyes, not from the injury on her arm, but from a different kind of wound—one no bandage could fix.
He glanced sideways at her. “So, you’re crying for the same relationships you once wore like medals around your neck?” His voice was low, mocking. “What happened now, Melissa? Why are they pouring out of your eyes like regret?”
Melissa said nothing, but Alec could see her shoulders tremble slightly. Her silence was louder than words.
He reached for the ignition, about to start the car when his gaze dr
