Page 27 of Stuck with my Brother's Firefighter Besties

“It’s tough,” I said finally. “Coming back. Trying to fit into a place that hasn’t changed when you have.”

She looked at me then, surprised. “Yeah.”

The road curved again. Snow fell heavier, soft flakes catching in the headlights.

“It’s like everyone expects me to be the same Lila I was before,” she continued. “But I’m not sure who that is anymore.”

I nodded, keeping my eyes forward. “You don’t have to be her. You just have to be… you.”

She fell quiet again, and I worried I’d said the wrong thing. But then she smiled, small and a little sad. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It’s not,” I admitted. “But you’ve got people who care about you. That helps.”

Her gaze lingered on me, her expression open, unguarded. For a moment, I thought she might say something more, but she turned back to the window instead.

The car felt warmer somehow, even with the cold wind howling outside.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you all this,” she murmured. “You’re just easy to talk to.”

I let out a short laugh. “First time anyone’s said that.”

She laughed, too, a quiet, genuine sound that made my chest ache in ways I wasn’t prepared for.

“Have you ever trusted someone so much, only to realize later that it was all… a lie?”

The question was unexpected, but the pain in her voice hit me hard. I glanced at her.

“Yeah,” I said carefully. “I think most people have. Why?”

She exhaled shakily, her gaze fixed on her lap. “That’s what happened with Rick. My ex.”

I didn’t say anything, letting the words come on her terms.

“At first, he was perfect,” she continued, sounding bitter. “Charming, attentive… he always knew the right thing to say. I thought I’d hit the jackpot. He swept me off my feet despite us being long distance, and I fell for all of it. God, I was so stupid. I should have known that a dating app wouldn’t work for me.”

“You weren’t stupid,” I said firmly.

She shook her head, a hollow laugh escaping her.

“Maybe not at first. But I should’ve seen the signs. I didn’t. Not until it was too late.” She paused, her fingers fumbling with the leash.

“He said he wanted to help me. That he believed in my dream of opening my own graphic design business. He even offered to invest in it once his accounting firm was successful. And I believed him. Why wouldn’t I? He was my boyfriend. I thought he loved me.”

I felt a knot form in my stomach. “What happened?”

She bit her lip, hesitating before answering. “We were buying a house together. I was moving to be near him because he said there were plenty of places I could start my business there. There was a lot of demand for it. He promised me the picket fence, the big wedding, and the kids, too.”

I could see the pain in her eyes.

It hurt me, too.

“I sent him all my savings for the down payment on the house. Everything.”

I gritted my teeth, trying to keep my anger in check. “And then what?”

Her laugh was sharp. “And then I flew out to meet him, to start our life together. But when I got there… he wasn’t at the airport. I went to the address he gave me, and it was fake. Just an empty lot.”

I didn’t say anything for a second, too busy trying to process how someone could do that to her. How someone could look at her and see anything other than someone worth protecting.

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