Serena’s heart pounded in her chest as she walked away from the café, the weight of her words still echoing in her mind. I don’t want you anymore. I’m sick of this. The look on Eli’s face when she said it, the shock, the disbelief—it all cut deeper than she expected. And yet, here she was, marching through the streets of Carmel with her fists clenched and her mind racing. The cool breeze did nothing to soothe the fire burning inside her.
The café grew smaller in the distance, and so did the sound of Eli and Solene—Arietta—calling after her. She quickened her pace, desperate to get away from it all. From the confusion, from the pain, from the truth that had unraveled in front of her like a cruel joke. She wasn’t sure what hurt more—hearing Arietta’s name from Eli’s lips as he slept, or wat
