"Because I like you," she said simply, a small smile on her face as she looked at me with soft eyes. "I've always liked you. I think you're smart,talented, and stronger than you give yourselfcredit for. And I hate watching you lock yourself away from everything and everyone who might actually care about you."
"People who care about you leave," I said, the words bitter in my mouth. "People who say they'll stay don't. I've learned that lesson enough times."
"Have you? Or have you just convinced yourself that's the only possible outcome?" Viola leaned forward, her expression intense. "Daphne, I heard about what happened at the market yesterday. Trinity coming at you, making accusations. And you know what else I heard? That the entire town took your side. That people were ready to throw her out if she didn't leave on her own."
"So what?" I picked up my coffee, needing something to hold onto. "That doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything!" Viola's voice rose slightly with exasperation. "Don't you see? This town—these people—they've been watching you for five years. They've seen you work hard, stay honest, mind your own business. They respect you, Daphne. They like you. But you've kept them all at such a distance that you have no idea how much support you actually have."
"I don't need support. I need to be left alone." But even as I said it, the words felt hollow. A defense mechanism I'd repeated so many times it had become automatic.
"Do you think so?" Viola asked quietly. "Do you really need to be left alone? Or is that just safer than risking connection?"
I stood abruptly, carrying my barely-touched pie to the sink. My hands were shaking, and I gripped the edge of the counter to steady them. "You don't understand."
"Then explain it to me." Viola's voice came from right behind me, and I hadn't even heard her move. "I'm here, Daphne. I'm listening. No judgment, no gossip, just... talk to me. Like a friend."
"We're not friends," I said, but the words came out weak, uncertain.
"Why not?" she challenged, and I could hear the determination in her voice. She wasn’t going to leave until we talked…really talked. "And don't give me the 'I'm private' excuse. The real reason. Why aren't we friends?"
I turned to face her, and the genuine concern in her expression made something crack inside me. "Because friends leave. Everyone leaves. My mother left me at an orphanage. Margaret and Tom died. Their kids sold everything and didn't look back. Everyone I've ever let in has found a way to leave, one way or another."
"So you decided to leave first," Viola said softly, understanding dawning in her eyes…and I knew I said more than I really wanted but she was hitting points I didn’t want to address. "By never really letting anyone in at all. You keep everyone at arm's length—me, Eleanor, everyone in town. You interact just enough to be polite but never enough to actually connect. And that way, when people inevitably drift away or move on, it doesn't hurt because they were never really close in the first place."
The tears I'd been fighting since Micah left that morning finally spilled over. "It's safer."
"It's lonely as hell," Viola countered, but her voice was gentle. She reached out slowly, giving me time to pull away, and when I didn't, she pulled me into a hug. "And I think you know that. I think you've known it for a while now."
I stood stiff in her embrace for a long moment, every instinct screaming at me to pull away, to rebuild my walls, to protect myself. But then something gave way inside me, and I found myself leaning into the hug, accepting the comfort I'd denied myself for so long.
"I don't know how to do this," I whispered against her shoulder. "How to let people in. How to trust that they'll stay."
"You start small." Viola pulled back, keeping her hands on my shoulders. "You take small risks. You let someone bring you pie and actually sit and talk with them. You accept dinner invitations. You show up to things even when it's uncomfortable. You give people the chance to prove they're not going anywhere."
"And if they leave anyway?" My voice cracked on the question. I didn’t think I could handle it if that happened. I was already so broken..if something like that happened again I might not be able to piece myself back together again.
"Then you hurt," Viola said honestly, taking me by surprise.. "And it sucks, and it's terrible, and you deal with it. But Daphne, living like you are now? That's hurting too. You're just so used to this particular kind of pain that you don't recognize it anymore."
I pulled away, wiping at my eyes with the back of my hand. "The guys…” I trailed off not knowing the right words to say about them. I know she knew who I was talking about by how her eyes softened as she looked at me, a small frown on her lips.
"Terrifies you," Viola finished, as she gave a determined look on her face. "Because they're not asking for surface-level interaction. They're asking for real connection. All four of them, which makes it even more overwhelming. Garrett has asked about you..so has Micah…they have gone around asking about you trying to get to know you without making you uncomfortable."
"How is that supposed to work?" I moved back to the table, sinking into my chair. "Four Alphas and one Omega… That's not... that's not normal."
"Since when do you care about normal?" Viola sat across from me again, a small smile playing at her lips. "You live alonein the woods, grow all your own food, and barely talk to anyone. Normal isn't exactly your thing."
Despite everything, I felt a small laugh escape. "Fair point."
"Look, I don't know if the pack thing will work out," Viola said, becoming serious again. "Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But that's not really the issue, is it? The issue is whether you're going to let yourself try. Whether you're going to risk the possibility of connection even though it might end badly."
Viola took a pause as she looked at me again, “Besides there are a few packs like the one that wants you to join them. I am sure you heard of Elias? I know you met him at the market…his pack took in another Omega so that pack is three Alphas and two omegas….so you wouldn’t be the only one around. My own pack is a beta and two Alphas.”
I stared down at my cooling coffee not saying for a few minutes as I let her words really sink in. She did make a lot of good points. I took a deep breath as I finally spoke again. "What if I can't handle it? What if I panic and push them away and ruin everything?"
"Then you apologize and try again," Viola said simply. I blinked at her words. She definitely wasn’t beating around the bush.
She gave a small smile as she spoke again, "That's what people in healthy relationships do, Daphne. They mess up, they communicate, they work through it. Nobody expects you to be perfect at this."
