I nodded. “You made this place feel like home again. After everything. You didn’t ask for details. You didn’t push. You just… made space for me.”
She sniffled and waved a hand. “Don’t make me cry, I’m hormonal.”
We both laughed quietly so we wouldn’t wake Olive.
“Seriously though,” I said, glancing down at the sleeping baby in my arms. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Good thing you don’t have to find out,” Madison replied.
I looked at her, my best friend, the strongest woman I knew, and realized this was what rebuilding looked like. Not in grand gestures, but in the quiet moments. Late-night bottle-warming, soft rocking chairs, shared silences that felt safe.
I leaned my head back and whispered to Olive, “You’ve got the best mom in the world, little one.” She sighed in her sleep, like she already knew.
And in that moment, with a baby on my chest and my best friend nearby, I realized I wasn’t just surviving anymore. I was building something too.
Chapter 31
Blair
I stood before the mirror in my childhood bedroom, the same faded cream wallpaper still clinging to the walls, and took a deep breath. My heart thudded hard against my ribs, not from fear, exactly, but from the gravity of what I was about to do. Tonight, everything came full circle.
Dinner was already underway downstairs. My mom had insisted on cooking a whole spread: roast chicken, mashed potatoes and apple pie. I knew it wasn’t just to celebrate me finishing the first draft of my book. They were trying, really trying. And I was, too.
I touched the pendant around my neck, the one Greyson gave me last week, a tiny book on a gold chain. “My love,” he’d whispered as he placed it around my neck.
I headed downstairs.
At the table, Dad stood and pulled out a chair beside him. Mom gave me a tight, hopeful smile, and to my surprise, even my older brother Seth had driven in from the city. It should have felt overwhelming, but strangely, it didn’t. Not anymore.
“So,” Mom said, passing the potatoes. “You said you had something to share?”
I folded my hands in my lap. “I’m staying.”
My mother’s breath caught. “In town?”
I nodded. “For good. I’m not running anymore. And I’m in love.”
There was a stunned silence. My dad blinked, Seth looked between us, and my mom’s eyes filled with tears.
“With Greyson?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.
“Yes. And I’m happy, truly. For the first time in a long time.”
“You look different,” Seth said quietly. “Lighter.”
I swallowed. “Because I finally let go of something I’ve been carrying for too long.”
After dinner, I stepped outside to clear my head. The night was quiet and calm, the wind tugging at my hair. I walked toward the square, where the town was still buzzing with weekend life. I hadn’t expected to run into him.
Adrian stood outside the bar, our bar, with a drink in hand and that same smug smile on his face like nothing had changed. Like he hadn’t ripped my life apart.
“You look good, Blair,” he said, stepping toward me.
For a moment, I froze.
Then, I moved.
I walked straight toward him, spine tall, heart pounding but steady. He didn’t flinch,just took another sip of whatever he was drinking, as if we were acquaintances crossing paths.
