A

one of three jobs she juggled to keep her life afloat. The first shift was at the local diner from six to noon, followed by th

left her drowning in medical bills and loans she hadn't even known existed. On top of that, her stern grandmot

" Niya muttered under her breat

ward her. Her cheeks were flushed, rosy from the cool air, as she

ny huffs, twirling a bunch of keys in her hand.

had it circled on m

p her voice down almost at the same time. "You've been obsessing over her for years, a

ked, holding out her hand. "Can I have

ned. "Yours trul

nel

palm. "Your grandma let me in when I stopped by earlier. And don't ask about my car. It's sti

happened to borrow

es, I knew you'd be fine wi

r she'd have had to take a cab to BookLore. But she'd rather knock herself over than admit

never going to let me live that d

usic was loud. The cop who pulled us over wrote us a lite

ding up her hands. "But on the w

ement about this event at BookLore is infectious, though a shadow of doubt fested in

had been a week since she married Alex McK

d decision. His proposal hadn't been born of love but necessity, and though he'd

o step into the role of his trophy wife. He'd said it matter-of-factly, *You're Mrs. McKenzie now," he'd told her

her almost-independence self which collapsed after she lost her parents. Now she had to live wit

per, torn roughly from a notebook, fluttered slightly in the breeze. The messa

e words were clear enough t

it,

of her neck. What did it mean? Her mind began to race with possibilities. She's bar

pounding heart. She'd been tired and on edge all day, and now this

snatched the no

re crumpling it into a ball. She tossed it under the ca

wheel tighter than usual. The drive was uncharacteristically quiet

awfully

duffel bag and pinning it on the neckline of her satin top

it's work. You promised to

ed. "I actu

like sandpaper grated against raw skin. She winced inwardly but tried to play it off with a sh

ere was something bitter a

ll. What'

le

e words," P

making me pl

, Niya," Pony inter

nd. He cares, just not i

d. "Okay. But that's va

don't know how to explain it. My life's a...mess?

nd gently, her voice dropped. "You de

Her father's warm, fragile hand laid in hers as she sat by his hospital bed. She remembered the way the light outside t

t clung to her like a fresh and r

oice ripped through h

e steering wheel jerked in her hands, nearly yanking her with it. The sound of crunching metal and shattering gl

he steering wheel with Pony, their hands scrambling for control, but the impact w

slicing against her face and arms. The airbag in front of her had dep

ensation spread through her head and body, leaving her gasping for air. She tried

d stench of smoke and burnt rubber filled her nose, mingling with the metallic tang of

storted, like thunderstorms roaring and rolling across a stormy sk

breath hitched when her gaze landed on her bestfriend. Upside down, seatbelt barely hold

hisper, the words clawing their way o

car. Another jarring sound followed, louder this time,