Rhys himself could barely explain how it felt to hear those words from her mouth. Those three words had evoked a lot of feelings in him all at once, and he could not react immediately. He had spent almost a half hour staring at her, unbelieving, yet he wanted to hear the words again. He had scooped her in his arms and kissed her until he felt all his feelings evaporate into thin air, and all that was left were their bodies. They are hot against each other. That day, he loved her back. He let go of everything that held him back—all his restraints—and gave her all of him. He could easily picture that day as the best day of his life. The day he had been free. They made love there in the meadow. Her favourite place. He would do anything to be there again, in that moment, with her. And then she returned to being mute. He did not know what happened; she did not know what happened, and now he really wanted to help her. So he called one of his buddies, and they recommended Vivienne. She

You know, I can’t find her book. Uncle had gotten two of the same kind of books and given us one each. I can’t find hers. Ever since she went missing,. Rhys shut the book and laid it to one side. He hated how the book made him feel, but he was thankful for the things the book showed him. Sophie’s past, which he now feels connected to in some way. Eliana had been wrong; his relationship with his mother had been strained, especially towards the end of her life, but her family, the one she tried to hide from the world, was the absolute worst. He could not imagine a father who killed his own daughter, scared his wife’s niece so much, and a mother who tried to protect that man. It was obvious that she did not love him. Then why did she do it? Why was she so bent on making everyone believe her family was okay? Why did she not report him for his crimes? Was the opinion of society and how she appeared to them all that mattered to her? How could it be all that mattered? He got out of bed

“There's nothing like that now. Before then,” hiccup, “we broke up. She didn’t want to be distracted in medical school. Now she’s back, and she only has a doctor in her name.” “Raul bro.” Rhys said, taking the glass from Raul’s grip. “You’re wasted. You need to stop drinking.” Sophie was the first to notice the woman who approached their circle. Her heart stopped, her breath hitched, and suddenly she was feeling too hot. Agatha’s daughter was their therapist. How did that happen? Was Agatha’s daughter not studying to become a lawyer? What was this sudden twist? She grabbed Rhys’ arm and pulled him back into the house and then into their car. “We need to get out of here!” she signed. “I did try to warn you.” Rhys said that and started the ignition. Sophie saw Vivienne walking out of the house—perhaps to stop them—as Rhys pulled the car out of their driveway. What are the odds that she thought that her therapist was Agatha’s daughter? *** The guests began to arrive one by one, a

Rhys tilted his head. “Why did you take it?” Sophie shrugged. “I may have lied when I said I was not curious about my mother. Veronica. I want to know what she’s like. Why did she leave and abandon me? What was so important that she had to leave me behind? Her reasons—that’s what I want to know.” Rhys could not help but notice that her hand shook slightly as she wrote. He placed his hand over hers and drew her into his body. “It’s alright, Sophie.” He said that and placed a kiss on her head. “I'll be here every step of the way.” He took the book from her, and Sophie snuggled into his arms. “I’ll read; you listen.” She opened the book to the package, which she had stopped, and relaxed into him. Her eyes closed as the hum of his deep voice started at the first words. In her brain, he droned out his voice and imagined visual images of the words Rhys read out. In this one, her aunt was sitting in her room, brushing her hair, and Veronica was balanced lazily on the window sill. T

Eliana found herself waiting for it sometimes, but when she waited for too long and none came, she began to stop caring. She was sorry to have to lie to Sophie like this, sorry for all the other lies she had to tell in the past, but she had convinced herself that she was doing what she needed to do. “I must go now, Sophie. I think Rhys is waiting outside for you, and I have to check on your uncle.” Sophie sat on her bed after her aunt left and cradled her notepad close to her chest. The tears she had been hiding ran down her face and stained the white dress she had put on. How could a woman so uncaring be her mother, and what wrong had she done in her past life to be punished with such a family? When the door opened again, it was Rhys who entered, and he was fully dressed. He sat by her side on the bed and took her hand. “You are crying.” He noted. “I saw your aunt leaving here. Did she say something to you? Sophie drew him closer and buried her face in his chest. She had be