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To my brother’s heart? Absolutely. “Probably,” I reply with a shrug.

“Okay. Thanks for the heads up.”

A smile tugs at my lips as I continue walking. Was that an arsehole move? Possibly. But my brother deserves better.

I round the corner towards the lifts when I spot the row of chairs where I sat yesterday while Nolan was in surgery. I’ve tried hard not to think about the mess I got myself into with Poppy and her grandmother, but I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t followed me long after I left the hospital last night. Enough to keep me awake for hours.

Apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment, because just like yesterday, I find myself heading straight for Nanna’s room.

Why? I can’t really say. Yes, I like the old woman, but mostly because she reminds me of my own grandmother and how terribly I let her down on her last day on earth.

I was in court. A high-profile case, with a room full of people waiting for me to tear apart a witness on the stand. My phone had buzzed with a message from my grandmother, but I slid it into my briefcase and ignored it. I told myself I’d call her when I finished. That she’d understand.

By the time I finally checked my phone again, I learned that she had fallen and been rushed to the hospital. I can still remember standing in that courtroom, dressed in my suit and tie, riding the high of my win as I listened to the voicemail Nolan had left hours earlier. I felt the sudden shift in my stomach as the triumph drained away and the dread settled in. I should’ve been there. I should’ve answered their calls. But I hadn’t, and there was nothing I could do to change that.

My brother’s words come rushing back. ‘It’s bad, Bennett. She hit her head when she fell, and the doctor said there’s bleeding on her brain’.

I got to the hospital as fast as I could, but she was already gone. My mother and brother had thankfully been by her side, but that did nothing to ease my guilt. I’d always been her favourite, and she was mine. She was my confidant … my sounding board.

She was the one who encouraged me to go to law school and insisted on paying for it, even though my parents could have easily afforded it.

Granny’s father was a barrister, and her great-grandfather was a Supreme Court judge. Law ran deep in our family, and she saw my potential before anyone else did. She was ecstatic to see me carry on the tradition she held so dearly.

The irony is that the very career she helped me pursue was the same thing that pulled me away from her when she needed me most.

I never got to say goodbye. Never got to tell her how much she meant to me. Never got the chance to make up for all the times I was too busy to visit, or too caught up in my own life to pick up the phone.

I’ve spent years telling myself there was nothing I could’ve done. That I couldn’t have known. But the truth is, I had a choice, and I didn’t choose her.

Today, when I push through the door to Nanna’s room, the curtain is pulled back, and she’s sitting up in bed. She’s also alone, and for a split second, that knowledge disappoints me.

I squash the feeling as quickly as it appears. Poppy may be a beauty, with a sassy mouth that appeals to me for some reason, but she’s also chaos wrapped in a pretty package. I have no interest in getting dragged into whatever mess she’s created. I’m simply here to see her grandmother one final time, and once I leave this room, I’ll put this entire charade behind me.

The fake boyfriend act. The drama. The woman who somehow managed to get under my skin in less than twenty-four hours.

At least, that’s what I tell myself.

“Riley,” Nanna says, her pale, ageing face lighting up the second she sees me. “I wasn’t expecting a visit from you today.”

I casually lift one shoulder, suddenly feeling ridiculous for even walking in here. “I was in the area,” I say, which is technically not a lie.

“Come sit,” she says, reaching out to tap the back of the chair beside her bed. “It’s wonderful to see you again.”

I unbutton my suit jacket as I approach, then take a seat. “How are you feeling today?”

She pauses for a moment, her expression softening before she says, “Better now. I was hoping I’d get the chance to see you again … you know, before I …”

The unfinished sentence hangs between us.

I clear my throat, rest my elbows on my thighs, and glance down at the floor. “May I ask what your diagnosis is?”

“Too many things to list.” She gives a small, humourless smile, flicking her hand as she speaks. “I’m surprised Poppy hasn’t filled you in on my seemingly endless list of health issues. They’ve been mounting up for a while now.”

“She doesn’t like to talk about it. I think it upsets her too much.”

It’s funny how my entire existence is built around honour and truth, yet here I am, lying to an old woman who’s dying without even breaking into a sweat.

Nanna rests her head against the pillow and releases a long sigh. “I worry about what’s going to happen to Poppy when I’m gone. She’s tough and courageous, but she carries everything on her own.” I stay silent, letting her words sink in. “That girl will tell you she’s fine, but no one should have to face this world on their own.”