Chapter 23

JAKE’S POV

Dinner was essentially ruined after my aunt left. I stood up for Amalia, I confirmed to Amalia that I didn’t care what my aunt said, but I knew at the end of all of it that what my aunt said and did hurt Amalia. Hell, my aunt really didn’t need to say anything. Just the way that she looked at Amalia was enough to be hurtful.

We spoke positively about the meeting with Dr. Ochoa and Amalia discussed her plan for her team this week as we ate, but the atmosphere had changed. I could sense her frustration and unease. She shouldn’t have to always be worried what my family thought about her. That just wasn’t fair to Amalia. Jonathan thought she was great. Anna did as well, despite having never met her. I shared with Anna about two weeks ago. I wanted her to know. I liked talking about Amalia but felt like I was so limited in who I could talk to, that telling my sister felt like a good next step. I planned on telling my other sister, Em