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Eventually, Leanne loosened her arms and stepped back. She wiped beneath her eyes, picked up her things, and opened the front door.

“Go,” I told her, even though part of me wanted to grab her hand and pull her back inside. “Before I change my mind and hide your passport.”

She laughed softly before stepping outside. I followed her onto the porch and watched as she walked toward her car. Halfway down the path, she stopped and turned around.

“I mean it, Sam. Call me.”

“I will.”

“Anytime.”

“I know.”

She stood there another second before finally turning away.

I stayed on the porch as she climbed into her car and pulled away from the curb. I watched until her taillights disappeared at the end of the street before going back inside.

The house was quiet again.

For the first time in my life, there was nowhere I had to be on Monday morning. No class waiting for me at Preston. No Sunday lunch with Dad to look forward to at the end of the week. Leanne would be thousands of miles away soon, starting the life she’d spent years working toward.

I closed the front door and stayed there for a moment, staring at nothing. Behind me, the last of the catering staff gathered their serving trays. Richard thanked them for their help and saw them out before closing the door again. Once the house had finally emptied, he crossed the room toward me and gently pulled me close, his arm wrapping around my shoulders.

“You can’t stay here, Sam,” he said quietly.

I blinked slowly, still dazed. “What?”

“This house is drowning in memories right now. You don’t need to sit here alone with all of it.”

“I don’t know where else to go, I don’t want to go back to my place, there’s too many memories of Dad and Leanne,” I murmured, exhausted and empty.

He took my hands. “Come home with me tonight. You don’t need to stay here or go back to your apartment. Just come with me.”

The idea felt both terrifying and like the only thread left to hold onto. My mind was too fogged with grief and guilt to fight it.

“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered.

“You don’t have to figure everything out tonight.” His hands tightened around mine. “But you don’t have to do any of it alone either.”

I looked at him, unsure what he was asking me to do.

“Marry me, Samantha.”

I stared at him, shocked. Of all the things I expected him to say, that wasn’t one of them.

“Richard…”

“I’m serious.” He kept hold of my hands. “Let me take care of you. Let me be your family.”

My chest tightened.

Dad would’ve told me I was moving too fast. He would’ve told me to wait, to think about it, to make sure this was really what I wanted. Before, I would’ve cared what he thought. I would’ve argued with him about it, gotten annoyed when he asked too many questions, then called him the next day once I’d cooled off.

But I couldn’t do that anymore.

Dad was dead. Leanne was leaving. Preston was over. Everything familiar was disappearing around me, and I didn’t know what my life was supposed to look like anymore.

Richard was the only person who was still here.