Page 26 of The Lilac River

He couldn’t.

Not really.

But he could still hurt the people I loved.

Mom.

Grandma.

Even Nash, if he ever found out the truth.

The secret that had ruined everything.

My father.

The murderer.

Dead now, but his crimes still haunted me. Still chained me. Still defined every decision I made.

I could still hear Mayor Miller’s words from ten years ago:

"You want to prove you love Nash and your mother?" he said softly. "Then you’ll do what’s best for them. You'll take the money and the plane ticket and vanish. Otherwise, your mother will suffer. I’ll make sure of it."

And I had.

I’d left the boy I loved more than life itself. I’d lived with a broken heart for ten long years. But I had protected Mom. Protected Nash, even if he never knew it.

And I would protect them again.

Whatever it cost me.

Because no matter what, the Mayor was right about one thing:

Nash deserved better than me.

And I’d made damn sure he got it.

Chapter 10

Breakaway – Kelly Clarkson

Lily

Why Monica Patterson felt the need to inspect my classroom just before the kids arrived, I had no idea. Yet there she was, stalking around like an IRS auditor, heels clicking across the polished tile, running her finger along every surface and poking at the 3D model of a butterfly like it might bite her.

"Everything okay?" I asked, watching her flick imaginary dust off her fingertips with surgical precision.

She turned to me with a tight smile, giving me a once-over like I was something she'd scraped off her Louboutin heel. "Hmm." She looked around again, lips pursed. "I hope your first day isn’t too traumatic."

Even though my stomach was a mess of nerves, and my hands shook slightly, I pasted on a bright smile. No way was I giving her the satisfaction.

"I’m sure it’ll be great," I said, straightening my shoulders. "I’m really looking forward to it."

I swore I saw her bristle, like the memory of every high school slight I represented was rising from the dead.

"You’ve got some... challenging pupils," she added with a smirk. "For starters, there’s Be?—"

"If you don’t mind, Monica," I cut in smoothly, keeping my voice light, "I prefer to make my own mind up about my students."

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