My heart stuttered.
“For marrying a girl he doesn’t love.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Don’t we?”
“No.” I shook my head even though she couldn’t see it. “No, we don’t. We don’t get to decide that for him. Georgia is real. She’s not some obstacle. She’s a person.”
“I know.”
“She loves him.”
“I know that too.”
“And maybe he loves her.”
“Maybe,” Regan said.
The word was gentle.
Unconvinced.
I hated that.
Needed it.
Hated that I needed it.
“I can’t know,” I whispered.
Regan was quiet for one beat.
Then she asked, “Was it her name he breathed on his lips?”
My whole body went still.
The fire escape disappeared.
The hospital disappeared.
The ring, the waiting room, the smell of coffee and smoke, Lily beside me, the night pressing cold against my scrubs—all of it fell away.
Beautiful, is that you?
Destiny.
Stay with me.
My name in his mouth while blood tried to take him.
“No,” I whispered.
Regan’s voice softened until it nearly broke. “Then there’s your answer.”
Tears slid down my face.
“That’s not fair.”
