Not in haste.
But with resolve.
Keir stayed away and called it mercy.
Isla left and called it survival.
And Callum?—
Callum stayed.
The truth settles heavy and unavoidable.
He grips the window frame, jaw tightening as something sharp and bright cuts through the devastation.
No.
He will not repeat the same mistake.
Stone does not love you back.
Walls do not choose you.
People do.
And for the first time in his life, Callum understands that what kept him safe once is not what will save him now.
He turns from the window, letter still clenched in his hand, heart pounding with something that finally feels like clarity.
This is not the end.
Chapter25
Isla doesn’t go home.
That decision is made before the car even pulls away from the airport.Her phone vibrates in her hand, her mother’s name lighting up the screen like a summons, and something inside Isla finally… stills.
Not fear.
Clarity.
She answers on the third ring.
“What time do you land?”her mother asks without preamble.“I’ll have a car waiting.”
Isla closes her eyes briefly.When she opens them, the city is already rushing past the window, sharp and familiar and entirely unchanged.
“I’m not coming home,” she says.
Silence crackles on the line.
“What do you mean you’re not coming home?”Alisa asks, her tone sharpening.“Isla, you’ve been gone long enough.We need to talk about your schedule.”
“We’re going to talk,” Isla says.“But not about my schedule.”
A pause.Calculated.
“Where are you?”her mother asks.
