Elysia turned her head and said quietly, “It’s nothing, really. I just argued with Dorian for a bit and then told him to leave. I honestly can’t stand to see him right now.”

Amara looked Elysia over carefully. Seeing that she truly seemed all right-her demeanor calm and untroubled—Amara felt relieved. She asked, “When will you be able to leave? Do you need to stay in the hospital for another night or two?”

Elysia shook her head. “It’s a minor procedure-it doesn’t require a hospital stay. I’d rather just go home.”

“Ama, let’s go together.”

“All right.” Amara nodded, then added, “Would you like to stay at my place for a while? I can look after you.”

Even though a miscarriage was a minor procedure, it was still surgery after all, and Elysia would definitely need some help getting around for a few days.

Elysia nodded. “That sounds good. I wouldn’t want to be alone right now anyway.”

With that, Amara went to take care of Elysia’s discharge paperwork. After completing the forms, she returned and picked Elysia up so they could head back to the villa together.

When they got home, Amara prepared something simple for them to eat. Over dinner, the two of them chatted, gradually opening up about their recent romantic troubles.

“I still can’t completely let go of Finnian,” Amara admitted. “Maybe it’s because I’ve liked him for so long. That’s why I was so angry when I saw the photo Liliana sent…”

“No, it wasn’t just anger-it was sadness too. It felt like being stabbed with needles, it just hurt so much…”

Amara was comfortable being honest in front of her best friend, sharing how she’d really been feeling the past few days.

Elysia nodded. “I know what you mean. I feel the same about Dorian.”

“Even though I was so determined to end things and have no more hope for that marriage, the feelings don’t just disappear. It takes time for them to fade, and it’s not easy… it really can hurt.”

Amara nodded-Elysia was right. You can’t erase so many years of feelings all at once; you can only try to let them fade little by little.

Suddenly, Amara remembered something and asked, “By the way, have you told

Lucian about…what happened with the pregnancy?”

“Not yet.” Elysia let out a sigh. “When I saw the photos Jessica sent this morning, I was so furious that↓ didn’t even think about Lucian AIII could think about was taking care of it right away.”

Just hearing Elysia use the words “taking care of it” made it clear she felt no connection or attachment to the child.

Amara couldn’t help but think of her own situation. If she hadn’t felt anything for the baby she was carrying, maybe, under pressure from Larry, she wouldn’t have kept it either.

She sighed again and talked with Elysia for a while longer. As it got late, they each took turns getting ready for bed and then went off to their own rooms.

Lying in bed, Amara had trouble sleeping. She didn’t want to look at her phone, so she shut her eyes and tried to force herself to sleep.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She picked it up and saw a message from Finnian: I’m outside the villa. Can you come out to see me? There’s something I want to say to you.

Amara stared at the message in the darkness, the white glow of her phone illuminating her face and making her look a bit pale.

She replied: Mr. Everly, whatever you need to say, you can text me. The implication was that she didn’t want to see him in person.

But Finnian persisted: Please, could you come out? I’d like to tell you face-to-face.

Amara considered it. Maybe it really would be best to talk in person and put things to rest. She replied: Wait for me. I’ll be right out.

She changed quickly and stepped outside. Finnlan was waiting by the entrance still dressed in his clothes from earlier that day standing by his car and watching her intently, as if he’d already been waiting there for a long time.