Page 60 of Finally Found You

“You could have finalized the divorce and saved us all from heartache.” Fern, who’s nestled between Aslan and me, interjects. I drape my arm around her, drawing her into a comforting hug.

“That wasn’t an option,” Mom whispers, her gaze drifting off into a distant memory. “I needed money to help Kirk. He… he was sick, in debt to too many people. In the end, I lost the love of my life.”

Aslan scoffs, the sound harsh on the sterile, gray walls. “So Kirk is the one you mourn every time you claim you lost the love of your life. Did we ever matter to you, Mother?”

“You did,” she admits, her voice thin and brittle. “I love you, but Lysander always kept you from me. He threatened to send me to jail for a crime I didn’t commit.”

“You’re seriously blaming me now?” Disbelief drips through my lips.

“He threatened to blame me for what happened to your father,” she claims. “Those drops were harmless. They eased his stomach issues. Constipation can be dangerous.”

“I hope you rot in jail,” Cory spits out, spinning on her heel and storming toward the exit, Hux trailing closely behind her.

“I’ll check on them,” Gatz offers but pauses before our mother. “I still love you because you’re my mother, but I doubt I’ll ever be able to forgive you for what you did to our father and us, your own children.”

Aslan just shrugs, glancing at me. “I don’t think there’s anything else to say.”

Caspian, who’s been a silent observer from the corner of the room, strides over to Heath and murmurs, “Let’s go. She’s not worth your time or your energy, Doc.”

And then it’s just the two of us. She glares at me, her eyes burning with accusation. “I thought we had an agreement.”

“It was over the moment you began to fuck with them,” I retort, a cold smirk curling my lips. “I hope your stay is worse than hell. We’ll make sure it lasts a lifetime.”

I could spend some time asking about Elsie, but it’s not worth my time. With that, I leave. I hoped she would be remorseful, but it’s obvious she doesn’t care about any of us.

* * *

That same afternoon, I find myself seated in the waiting room of a therapist’s office. I’m glad she was able to accommodate Kenzy right away. As I wait for her, I keep thinking about my earlier encounter with my mother, trying to understand why she couldn’t sit down and talk to my father about her financial problems.

Knowing Dad, he would’ve given her a hand. He was a good man who always taught us to help those in need. I’ll never understand what happened between them. We’re left with only one side of the story—my mother’s. We’ll have to live with what we know, a tragedy that broke us, but thankfully didn’t destroy us.

My fingers itch to type out a message to Cami, to tell her everything that’s been happening for the last few days. I did promise to let her know what’s happening with my family when she discovered all those documents in my old file cabinets. But now… what’s the point of reaching out?

It has to be over, for Kenzy, for her, and maybe even for me.

The focus is, and should be, Kenzy. Tomorrow, we have an appointment with a family therapist. And while we’re fixing our little family of two, I have to decide whether Kenzy and I should move to Paradise Bay or stay in San Francisco. With my mother out of the picture, we can buy a house near the vineyard and even relocate the offices there. Life would be better, wouldn’t it?

This is exactly what all my siblings have: families and jobs they love. I finally have it all too, and yet, there’s an emptiness inside me. Why does a hollow echo still resonate within me, a void that seems unfillable?

Will it ever fade away?

When Kenzy comes out of the office smiling at me, I know the echo within me might not fade overnight, but with her by my side, it’ll eventually disappear.

For now, that’s enough.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Camilla

The chill of Colorado’s evening air envelops me as I settle into the plush lounge chair, the warmth from the flickering fire pit offering little solace. The scene echoes another—the rooftop back in San Francisco, a cityscape painted with golden lights, and Lysander’s presence.

Three long months have passed since his voice last soothed my ears, his laughter my comfort, his silence my peace.

The ache of his absence is a constant companion. He’s that one subject I haven’t brought into therapy just yet. But I have to, before the void sucks me into a dark place. Someday, I promise myself, when the thought of him doesn’t feel like falling into an abyss. For now, my focus is on tackling my abandonment issues and the daunting possibility that Kenzy might never reconcile with me.

“Is everything okay?” JJ’s voice weaves through my reverie as she pours herself more wine. Her gaze sweeps over the cardboard boxes scattered around us.

She’s moving to Seattle in a week, and I’m here under the pretense of helping her pack. But we both know her father will be here by Thursday with a crew that will undo and redo everything we’ve attempted. I adore Hudson, but he’s a perfectionist.

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