Paige’s eyes snapped up, sharp with concern.
Nicole gave a laugh, jagged and brittle.“The woman warned me away from her son.Said he had a girlfriend who was exactly the kind of woman he needed.”The sound dissolved into silence, bitter as ash.
“That’s not true,” Paige said quickly, almost too quickly, like she needed to defend Tripp.“Or at least…he hasn’t told me about one.”
Nicole lifted her teacup with trembling hands, the china rattling against its saucer.She took a sip, though the liquid scalded going down.“Well, whether it’s true or not, she wanted me to hear it.To cut me down.To remind me I’m not good enough.And then—” her voice cracked, splintering— “then she dropped a bomb on me.”
Paige’s posture stiffened, wary.“What?”
Nicole gripped the cup so tightly, she was afraid she’d shatter it.“She told me my parents helped her break up me and Tripp.”
Paige blinked, stunned.Her lips parted, then closed, then opened again.Finally, she shook her head.“Dear God.That woman is a witch.”
And that was all it took, the final blow.Nicole’s breath hitched, and a sob broke free.Tears slipped hot and fast down her cheeks, falling into her tea.“I went home after court and confronted Mom and Dad.I told them about running into Mrs.Masterson, about how this case feels like a mirror of everything I lost with Tripp.And I told them Iknew.” Her voice cracked again, her words breaking into shards.
Paige leaned across the couch, her hand covering Nicole’s in a firm, grounding hold.
Nicole shook her head, fighting for air.“They didn’t deny it, Paige.Not outright.They as much as admitted it.That they had something to do with it.The breakup.”Her chest heaved.“They wouldn’t give me details, but it was enough.Enough to know they’re guilty.That they—” She swallowed, the word tasting like blood.“That they lied to me.”
Paige’s fingers tightened around hers.“Oh, Nicole…”
“All these years,” Nicole sobbed, pressing her palms to her eyes.“I thought it was just Tripp.That he’d stopped loving me.That he’d walked away.And now I find out myown parents, the two people I believed most, helped destroy us.”
Paige pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around Nicole’s shoulders, pulling her into the steady warmth of a friend’s embrace.Nicole sagged against her, the fight draining out of her.
Why did it feel like this had been the battle of her life?
Paige’s voice was gentle but sure.“You were their shining star, and Tripp was a threat to them, Nicole.None of that was your fault.Not then.Not now.”
Nicole let out a shaky laugh through her tears, muffled against Paige’s shoulder.“Then why does it feel like everything was my fault?”
“Because they wanted what was best for you, and they believed that you and Tripp were too young to know what you wanted,” Paige said fiercely, brushing a tear from Nicole’s cheek.“But you were loved.Youareloved.And you’ve carried the weight of this for far too long.”
Nicole clung to her, sobs breaking free again, her body trembling with twenty years of buried pain.
For the first time in years, she didn’t feel like she was drowning alone.
Paige’s eyes darkened.“Oh, Nic.”
Nicole set the mug down before her hands betrayed the tremor in them.“I’ve spent twenty years believing Tripp left me, that he didn’t love me enough.That I wasn’t good enough.And now—” Her voice cracked.“Now I don’t know what to believe.”
The screen door creaked.Nicole turned, expecting the salty wind.Instead?—
Tripp.
He stood in the doorway, framed by the ocean in the distance, shoulders tense, eyes locked on her.For a heartbeat, the world held still, the only sound the tide rushing against the shore.The waves crashing onto the beach, like her life was unraveling around her.
“Did you call him?”
“No,” Paige said.“I told him where I’m staying, but I didn’t know he was coming over tonight.”
“I need answers,” he said.“And Paige was the only person I thought could give them to me.But I’m so happy you’re here.”
Paige looked between them.Then, with a slight nod, she rose.“I’ll give you two some privacy.”She slipped out the back door, leaving silence in her wake.
Nicole’s pulse thundered.“What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same,” he said, his voice rough.He stepped inside, closing the door behind him.“But I think we both came for the same reason.”
