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To drown in noise—and maybe whisky—and forget.

Ewan stands behind the bar looking overwhelmed but cheerful. He spots me immediately.

“Finn! Over here!”

I make my way through the crowd and sit on a barstool. Ewan places a whisky in front of me before I even ask.

“Rough day?”

“You could say that.”

I take a sip. The whisky burns pleasantly down my throat.

Ewan wipes the counter and gives me an observant look.

“You seem tense.”

“I’m the doctor for the Highland Games. That’s normal.”

“Uh-huh. And it has absolutely nothing to do with Mary spending the day with Jamie?”

I stiffen.

How does literally everyone know?

Ewan raises both hands peacefully.

“Glenfield’s a small village, my friend. News travels fast. Besides, I saw Mary and Jamie grabbing coffee together this morning.”

I take another drink.

A longer one this time.

“It’s none of my business.”

“Really? Because you look very much like someone whose business it absolutely is.”

I don’t answer.

Ewan leans closer, lowering his voice slightly despite the noise surrounding us.

“Look. Jamie and Mary grew up together. He always had a thing for her, that’s true. But she never saw him that way. At least that’s what she used to say.”

The words echo in my head like a sentence being handed down.

“They have history,” I say quietly. “A past. Shared memories.”

Ewan looks at me with surprising gentleness.

“Yeah. But she chose you.”

I want to laugh.

Or cry.

Possibly both.

She didn’t choose me.