e tiny saucepan over the s

" I told him f

bad, I promis

he glanced bac

nsulting

ft. You almost pois

I was

quote, 'your st

rumbled outside our tiny bedroom win

re downstairs hos

hua and I were

were usually o

y to our hea

ran to slam him but fe

d up... He stood a few feet away

t u

, the world dissolved a

ghts were the f

I miss my brother that much? Or was life

and tried

ref

so fast you would think I

dn't move

m f

u are n

lowly, tryi

rse mornings

a tired expression. "Well, you s

row

e w

e b

red a

e another pregnant woman might

N

ightly. "You're aroun

gnan

t strangely

anic... Be in s

all that, I

already exhausted t

wn at my st

Raymond

fainted from the impact and str

tiredly. "Who b

r fi

re i

He left after your tre

ver cam

at least another da

can

s Li

ally

"At least av

laughed i

my discharge papers and

nd headed to whe

ymond's apartment, the

d he regretted yesterday. And

the taxi and head

aughter... Fem

female

utside th

till laughing w

r wearing one of Raymond's sh

r legs while she fed him

t like a drea

noticed

d brightly. "Th

nd tu

omething flickere

sappeared

oing here?" I

nds with a towel cal

again. "We had wed

into laughter

id off th

she said. "No

ce me. "There won't

ut her hand lazily, s

s morning," she

ned so hard it

re jo

aymond

tween them

ile I cried in his arms... Yes

esterday?" I

everything beca

part o

ar

. "Lily, things haven't

ings for Cassa

"I didn't know how to end things with you

to

t all those

to

me," I w

's un

er this time. "I built y

appreci

benefited

ore because Cassandra o

of them

than the conf

andra and wrapped an arm a

ore sense

wanted to

ly. "Meanwhile you ha

d not

could barely

ody ever will. You may be the legal dau

und the kitche

erate enough, maybe I'll hire

re i

a frowne

help run the c

e. I can hire ten degree h

m. Doesn't mean t

daughter pretending she won... And Raymond? He's using you ex

aymond snapp

y, Cassandra touche

el

d back at me w

eday," she said lightly. "I do

ched m

easy for me. Altering Father's w

her quickly, but

asked. "She

red a

ted it so

out of my life wa

side me fina

way before they could

of them

se they

er. And after nearly forty minutes

lation directly, challenging the will s

dmitte

rba

es

did so in

d not

an apolog

y, it means

bitterly.

sor

ly, leaving. "E

ng t

ollapsed in less tha

k without rememberi

rass nearby while parents

bench and s

thing, despite all the cruelty

fully stop wanting their pare

y rested agai

ving a c

what proper love looked like? What if I became like my

ne made vomit ri

ned my ey

hispered

dn't d

carry Raymo

settled heavi

start life again, forgetti

e rang

ed it but I an

el

tely, but when they did. I heard

il

re body

t v

oss

htened arou

Josh