SERAPHINA'S POV
As we walked, my shoulders started to ache—not from the bags I was carrying, but from the weight I thought I'd finally shrugged off.
I tried to hide it. I smiled at Maya, thanked her a thousand times, even made a joke about tripping in one of the ridiculous heels she made me buy.
But the truth? My shopping spirit had flatlined somewhere between Emma's sneer and Celeste's smug little declaration.
Even now, it echoed in my head: 'Kieran's already made his choice.'
I knew that. And it shouldn't have bothered me one bit.
Still, hearing it—spoken with such confidence, like I was nothing but a discarded mistake—burned hotter than any insult ever could.
"Okay, one last stop," Maya announced as we pulled up to our cars. "My car has been acting up lately,"—she
