"No."
Ava took a step back.
Then another.
Then another.
As if distance alone could make the words disappear.
"No."
Victoria's eyes filled with sadness.
"Ava..."
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"My father loved my mother."
Victoria closed her eyes.
"I know."
"He would never hurt her."
"Ava—"
"He wouldn't."
The room felt smaller.
Harder to breathe in.
Because this wasn't just another secret.
This was her mother.
Her family.
Her entire life.
And she couldn't bear the possibility that the man she had spent years missing...
Was the reason she lost the person she loved first.
Damien