Page 48 of Rejected Heart

I was wrong.

Unable to stand it any longer, and believing my sister deserved to share the happy moment in her life, I decided to make it easy.

We were all sitting outside, having just celebrated with some cake, and while there were soft murmurings around the group—it was difficult not to have that with so many of us there—it was rather quiet.

“Alright, so who’s going to tell me?”

In an instant, everyone shot their attention in my direction. “Tell you?” Wyatt asked. “Tell you what?”

“There’s something going on, and I feel like everyone knows about it but me.”

The moment I got the words out, it seemed that nobody was able to look at me. They dropped their gazes to the ground or to each other, but they refused to look at me.

Until they did.

One by one, they looked at me.

And I could see the worry in their eyes.

Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure I was going to hear that my baby sister had found someone who made her happy.

But I settled my gaze on her anyway. “Tell me what’s going on, Jules.”

I watched as her throat moved with the deep swallow she took. “I saw Layla.”

Three words.

Three words, and my world turned on its axis.

“What?”

“I saw Layla yesterday,” she shared. “I was in downtown Landing, and I happened to be near the consignment shop. Layla was letting herself into the store.”

If I hadn’t been sitting down, I would have been pacing. My body was filled with this undeniable need to move. To run. To get away.

From the hurt, the pain. Thedestruction.

While clenching my jaw, my fingers ran back and forth along the arm of the chair.

Eight years.

It had been eight years since I saw her, since I’d spoken to her. Eight years since she’d ripped my heart out without any explanation.

And she never came back.

She never called. She’d only ever given me those three letters, and that wasn’t close to being enough.

“Did you—” I stopped to clear my throat. “Did you talk to her?”

Jules nodded. “I did.”

“And?”

For just a few seconds, my sister hesitated. “She’s here because her mom was in a really bad car wreck the day before yesterday. Meredith suffered someextensive injuries, a compound fracture to her femur being the worst of it. So, Layla’s here. And because her mom is going to need help over the next several weeks and months, Layla isn’t leaving.”

My hand was at my throat, attempting to massage away the pain I felt there. At the same time, I inclined my head with understanding. “Is that it?”

“Yes. Well, except for…” Jules trailed off.

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