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“Yaya.”
Lucy chokes. “I’m sorry. Did you just… was that another language?”
Inside, my heart is beating against my ribs like a roof ripped off by a hurricane.
Outside, I’m calm.
Steady.
My voice doesn’t waver once.
“My girlfriend’s name is Yaya.”
Lucy pops an eyebrow.
At that moment, my phone buzzes.
Glad for the distraction, I check the new message.
Unknown number: This is Yaya.
Unknown number: I’d like to meet as soon as possible to discuss repayment. I’ll do whatever it takes to fix your car.
My fingers tighten over the phone.
Love being a choice was the main lesson dad taught me about relationships.
But there was one more lesson.
The power of destiny.
And I have a feeling… I met my destiny tonight.
CHAPTER3
the deal
YAYA
My smartwatch buzzes on my wrist as I pose in front of the mirror hanging behind a chipped, white wardrobe.
I ignore the vibration and continue applying lip gloss.
Sunshine falls on me, catching the golden highlights I painted liberally on my nose, the tip of my forehead, and along my cheekbones.
Princess-themed curtains flutter with a sudden gust of wind. I twist my head around, observing the large oak that mom and dad planted when they first moved in.
I don’t clearly remember many of the sounds I heard before I went deaf, but I remember the sound those trees made. Something like applause. Something like an invitation to fly.
I used to sneak out through that window, shimmy down the large trunk and go running late at night.
Just to feel the wind on my face.
Just to feel a little less smothered.
Being back in my childhood bedroom as an adult, I’m grateful that I always came back home.
Since I’ve been modeling, I’ve met all kinds of people—truly beautiful humans from broken homes, horror stories tattooed on their skin, hands so firmly on the self-destruct button not even a crowbar could pry them off.
