Holly paced her room after Emma left, her mind swirling with everything Lucas had said. She thought she’d find relief in rejecting him, but instead, she felt as if the foundation she’d been slowly rebuilding had cracked under the weight of his words. How could one person throw her so completely off balance?
It wasn’t that she wanted Lucas back. She didn’t. But his sudden reappearance had stirred up feelings she’d long buried—questions about her self-worth, her choices, and the life she was trying to build here in Snowfall Valley. And while she hated to admit it, his question kept repeating in her head like a taunt.
*“If you’ve moved on, why are you still here?”*
She glanced at her suitcase, still partially packed on the armchair, and felt a stab of doubt. Snowfall Valley had started to
