I should have just walked away. But the note Jack had surreptitiously slipped into my hand stayed silently in my mind: "Come to me tonight. You owe yourself the truth. I've only ever loved you."
The party was alive with laughter, clinking glasses, and soft music playing in the background. But all I could hear was the sharp edge in James’ voice as he stood there, his eyes full of something I couldn’t place. Disappointment? Anger? Both?
"Why do you do this, Stella?" he asked, his tone cutting across the buzz of conversation that surrounded them. "What is it about it that you prefer to us?"
I gasped, trying to keep my poise. "This isn't about us, James," I told him, my voice firm but resolute. "This is about finding out what I really want, not about shaping my life to suit you—"
"Are you
