Chapter 84

My thumbs hovered over the message from Susan. Hi Haley! Jordan and I are going to the children’s park tomorrow morning—would you and Lily like to join us? I stared at it, reading it over and over again. It wasn’t a threatening message. It wasn’t unkind. In fact, it was kind. Too kind. But still… a familiar flutter twisted in my stomach. Seeing Susan—now with Sebastian—in a casual setting felt strange. Not painful, not sharp. Just heavy. Like walking into a place you once lived and realizing everything’s been rearranged. The walls are the same. But the warmth? The scent? The little signs of you? Gone. I swallowed hard. Was this me clinging to the past? Or was it something else—some residue of how everything changed so fast, and I never really got to catch my breath? I sighed and looked up. Lily sat across from me, finishing her cereal and humming quietly, swinging her legs under the chair. Her curls bounced with every small movement, and she’d gotten milk on her nose without noticing.