My last thought, before falling into a restless slumber, was of Amelia.
THE PRESENT
AMELIA
Sabrina had sworn I’d find peace here, and I hoped she was right.
The cabins loomed three stories high on a gentle slope, their rough-hewn logs glowing honey-warm in the morning light.
Inside, my room smelled faintly of cedar and old wool, comforting, if only it weren’t so silent.
I pressed my back against the cool pine wall, closed my eyes, and let the resort’s distant laughter and splashing pool fade into a dull hum. Solitude, at last.
Outside, the mountains reared like slumbering titans. Forests spilled from their flanks, a tangle of emerald and shadow, ribbons of silver rivers twisting through the valley below.
I settled onto our cabin’s porch, its worn boards creaking beneath me, and let a breeze drift across my skin, carrying the scent of pine resin and damp earth. I inhaled deeply and smiled.
Serenity.
Then the crisp stillness shattered under the deliberate click of a front-door latch. I twisted, heart tightening, and there he stood.
Caiden.
He filled the doorway in a dark-black jacket, his posture unnervingly straight, as if every muscle were wired to attention.
A stray sunbeam struck the edge of his jaw, and for a moment I wondered if the quiet confidence he wore so easily was genuine, or just another mask.
My lips curved into a scowl before I could stop it. “Why do you always manage to wreck every peaceful second I get?” My voice was low but edged with more bitterness than I’d meant to show.
He flicked his gaze my way, amber eyes narrowing. A slow smirk tugged at his mouth. “It’s funny, I was just thinking you’re the one killing my vibe. Like a bad scent.”
I sprang to my feet, boots thudding on the porch. “Maybe you should leave,” I snapped, crossing my arms so tightly my shoulder blades ached.
His jaw clenched, dark brows inching together as if to contain some inner storm. “Not happening. I’m here because of family. You’re nothing but the pity guest, tagging along for sympathy.”
I stepped forward, pulse pounding beneath my ribs. “She invited me to bond with her and Shane. I’m maid of honor. Get your facts straight.”
Caiden’s lips quirked. “Ah. So you’re gonna ruin his big day, too? I’m best man.”
Every breath inside me felt like molten metal. I pressed my hands against the porch railing until my knuckles blanched. “You’re like a virus, can't be rid of you.”
His glare went to an icy anger. “And you’re a whining child who never knows when to shut up.”
My tongue recoiled from the retort I’d been dying to unleash.
Then Sabrina’s cheerful voice cut through the charged air, and Shane’s booming laugh followed. They emerged, hand in hand, faces lit with that glowing newlywed bliss, another reminder of how trapped I was here, forced into their fairy-tale while I faced my personal villain.
“Perfect timing!” Shane called, hugging them together. “How about we all stick together today? Group hike!” His grin was so wide he looked almost feral with joy.
I managed a shrug. “Sure.”
We set off along a narrow trail that sloped upward into cathedral-high pines, shafts of sunlight dancing through needles overhead. Damp moss muffled our footsteps, and the air tasted of centuries-old bark and wildflowers.
I fell behind Caiden, who strode ahead with his shoulders squared, as if clearing the path with sheer force of will. I kept myeyes on the needles underfoot, each step a deliberate refusal to meet his gaze.
The incline steepened. Rocks jutted from the earth like broken teeth; tree roots twisted across the dirt in great, gnarled hands. Somewhere above us, water tumbled over stones, its lazy gurgle rising and falling like distant thunder.
I paused at a bend and watched mist drift over the stream’s surface, silver on obsidian rock, hinting at hidden cascades further upstream.
