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“Lakelyn, I need you to believe me. I really did not intentionally do that to you. I wouldn’t… not with Halloween… not knowing what that day means to you.” Her fingers tightened around mine. “Could I have gotten on my phone once I realized those invitations had gone out and told everybody it was a mistake? Hell yes. I could’ve canceled the whole thing right then, and maybe I should have. But before I did, I started thinking about something.”

Willow released a long, heavy breath before pulling out the stool beside me and sitting down.

“I miss my sister.”

“Willow, I’m sitting right here.”

“I know you’re sitting here physically, Lakelyn. That’s not what I mean.”

The lingering anger inside my chest quieted just enough for me to hear what she was really saying.

“Ever since Caspian disappeared, you’ve been completely different.”

My gaze dropped to the cold marble counter.

“And I get it,” Willow continued softly. “I really do. I’m not saying you should’ve just moved on like nothing happened. That man was the love of your life. You were building a future with him, and then one day he was just... gone. No explanation, no closure, nothing. I know that changed you.” Her thumb brushed slowly across the back of my hand. “But, sis, you’ve spent so many years taking care of everybody else that I don’t think you even know how to enjoy yourself anymore.”

“What does that have to do with this party?”

“When was the last time you actually went out with your friends, dressed up, and had genuine fun without checking your watch every five minutes? And I don’t mean dinner with coworkers where you were home by nine. I don’t mean taking Kaidence somewhere and calling it a good day because he had fun. When was the last time Lakelyn went somewhere because Lakelyn wanted to go?”

I opened my mouth to answer, searching through six years of memories.

Nothing came out.

Willow nodded slowly. “Exactly.”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“Lakelyn, life is more than work and looking out for everybody else.” She shifted closer, still holding my hands. “It’s more than paying bills, making sure Kaidence is good, checking on Granny, answering everybody’s calls, solving everybody’s problems, and being the person everybody knows they can depend on. You can spend so much time being everybody else’s safe place that you forget you deserve somewhere to exhale too.”

Damn.

I swallowed hard around the heavy lump forming in my throat.

“And being responsible ain’t the same thing as living,” she continued. “Surviving ain’t the same thing as living either. You worked your ass off to build a life after Caspian disappeared, but sometimes I think you got so focused on keeping that life together that you forgot you’re supposed to enjoy some of it. What’s the point of fighting this damn hard for a life you never give yourself permission to actually live?”

That one hit harder than I wanted it to.

Willow squeezed my hands again. “Sis, I love that about you. I admire it so much. You’re the one everybody can call. You’re the one who’ll figure some shit out when the rest of us are panicking. But I miss the girl who used to laugh until she couldn’t breathe over the dumbest jokes.”

My eyes burned.

“The girl who used to get dressed up on a random Tuesday just because she felt pretty,” Willow murmured, a fond smile touching her lips. “The girl who would bang on my door at midnight talking about, ‘Get dressed, bitch, we’re going somewhere fun.’ The girl who didn’t need a reason to celebrate herself.”

A faint, trembling smile pulled at the corners of my mouth.

“You used to be the life of the party.” Then she added smoothly, “Well, runner-up. Obviously, I was first.”

A startled laugh burst out of my chest despite the tears gathering in my eyes. “Bitch.”

“What?!” Willow’s face broke into a grin. “I’m just being historically accurate!”

I shook my head, wiping beneath my eyes.

Her smile softened immediately. “There she is.”

I sniffled. “Willow...”