Page 70 of The Edge Of Us

"Stop." My voice was sharper than I intended. I took a breath and looked my mother directly in the eye. "I’m only going to say this once. Don’t disrespect Corinne again. Not in front of me. Not in front of anyone."

My mother looked stunned. "I’m your mother, Jasper. I have the right to care about who you bring around."

"Then care without cruelty. Care without dragging someone through the mud based on what you think is acceptable. Corinne is kind. She's strong. She's survived things you wouldn't last a day enduring."

Janice huffed. "So you’re defending her now? Over us? Over history?"

I turned to her. "There is no 'us,' Janice. There hasn't been for a long time. What we had... I thought it was love. But it was comfort. Safe. Predictable. I don't want safe anymore. I want real. I want someone who feels deeply. Who doesn’t live to please the social circle."

"So you want broken?" she bit out.

"I want brave," I said firmly. "I want someone who gets back up. Even when the world crushes her."

My mother gave me a cold look. "I won't bless this. A divorcee? With emotional baggage and children?"

"Then don't," I said, stepping back. "But know this. If you ever make Corinne feel less-than again... you won't just lose your influence over my life, you’ll lose me altogether."

I didn’t wait for their response. I turned and left, heart racing.

I found Corinne on the patio, arms folded over herself as the wind played with her hair. She didn’t look at me when I approached.

"I'm sorry," I said gently. "You didn't deserve that."

"It’s fine," she whispered. "I’m used to it."

My heart cracked. "No, Corinne. Don’t say that. Don’t let people like them convince you that you have to get used to being hurt."

She turned to me then, eyes glistening. "I just... I don't fit here, Jasper. I came because Brittany asked me to, but this world? It's not mine."

I stepped closer, brushing my fingers over hers. "It can be, if you want it. But only if you're treated with respect. With kindness. And I swear to you, as long as you're standing with me, you'll never have to hear those things again. Not from them. Not from anyone."

She blinked at me. "Why are you doing this?"

I smiled faintly. "Because you're not like them. Because you're honest, and real, and even when you're hurting, you still shine. And because..."

I hesitated, then lifted her hand to my lips. "...I see something in you that I haven’t felt in a very long time."

She didn’t say anything. But the way her fingers laced through mine told me everything I needed to know.

And in that quiet, I decided:

No one was going to ruin her peace again.

Not on my watch.

Chapter 41

Corine

Two months had passed since I returned to Los Angeles.

It felt like coming home, except everything was different. I was different. No more trembling hands every time the doorbell rang, no more waking up to imaginary whispers in the dark. I wasn't entirely whole, not yet, but I was putting myself back together-one morning, one night, one deep breath at a time. My parents had flown back to North Carolina once they were sure I could handle being alone again with the kids. And I could. I really could. For the first time in a long time, I could wake up and not feel like I was being crushed under the weight of my own mind.

Astrid turned two today.

I could barely believe it. It felt like she was just a baby in my arms, still smelling like powder and milk, clinging to my finger like it was her lifeline. And now she was running around the house in her glittery pink dress, bossing poor Kyle around like she was royalty. Which, in a way, she was. My princess. My anchor.

"Mommy, where's the cake?!" Kyle yelled from the backyard. He was four and a half now, smart-mouthed and full of energy.

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