The Vows We Never Chose

thirty seconds long, bu

ou home. It's urgent. Come back to W

lly quiet, liberating, uneventful months. The kind of months that

ssage and tossed t

in Eastpoint, heart pounding like the ghost of some memory had crawled under her ski

ituary said, or the hushed conversations at the funeral. There were too

l, no apology, no explan

rain headed south, toward the pl

vered stone and rose-colored windows, more castle than home. It belonged to the Devereux family-her mother's in-laws, though Eliana

he handles of her suitcase tighter than necessary. T

ay dress met he

quick nod. "Your mother is

," Eliana muttered

ushions, same towering portraits of dead people Eliana had never met. Her mot

said, standing w

dropped her suitcase by the door. "What'

n, unbothered. "You'

. The kind that came from somewhere

eekend. You'll be marr

"I haven't seen Adrien since I was sixteen. And even then,

terrupted. "The contracts are sig

ed it. I'm not marrying anyone

ever supposed to leave in the first place. And now,

other? Our family is a mess of lies and secrets. W

said, cool

rned away before she sai

dded sharply. "They buried her with silence. This is yo

na f

as a new c

mean, 'from

e didn't

envelope, and handed it to Eliana. It was sealed in

li

ame. In her ow

e paper was old. Folded, re-f

on't trust any of them. Especially not Mother. I found something-something

breath

lia died. Before the fall from the cli

d up at h

already wa

saw Adrien, it was at

him now, like a statue carved from something sharp and ancient. His eyes

e said simp

ted to

-guilt, grief, maybe some

ayal wears," she said

. "You don't kno

at a t

arni

g her alone on the steps of

ight, she co

illowmere until she found h

ered in white cloths. But one drawer

li

ast sketches and old poetry

scrawled

ia De

e knew. She l

creaked b

, heart in

hallway