RONALD
Breakfast at the resort had always been a ritual.
No matter how old we got, no matter how chaotic the night before had been, and no matter how badly I wanted to avoid certain conversations.
We gathered around the long glass dining table in the private dining area reserved for our families, sunlight pouring in from the open balcony doors, as the scent of the sea mixed with coffee and fresh pastries.
My mother believed breakfast set the tone for the day, but right now, it felt like it was about to set the tone for my slow descent into madness.
Lily sat across from me, and she was glowing.
There was no other word for it.
Her skin looked brighter, her eyes lighter, her smile softer but constant, as if she were holding onto something sweet inside her chest and didn’t want to let i
