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“Sierra wants all of us to get together for dinner tonight,” Nick says. “Are you planning to skip?”

Fuck my life.

“I’ll be there, Nickolas,” I reply in frustration. “But don’t think for even a second that I don’t know what you’re all trying to do.”

Besides the fact that I took part in the whole plan to help Ethan and Thalia get back together, it’s painfully obvious what they’re up to.

What they don’t realize is that these are two completely different situations.

How do you make her look at you again with love, desire, passion, need?

How do you stop seeing that look on her face—the same one I saw when she told me it was over, even though I never cheated on her?

There’s no solution here, and no matter how hard they try to force us into the same room together, nothing between us is going to change.

Still, Nick is right. I can’t stop doing things with my family just because she’ll be there too.

I think it’s enough that I don’t bother her with my presence at all and that I try to keep my distance as much as possible.

Now all that’s left is learning how to live without her instead of merely existing.

FORTY-SIX

Selene

“I can’t believe how talented you are,” Sierra says from the doorway, sounding genuinely stunned.

Just like we planned, I’m painting a ballerina on the wall, her back turned, dressed in a pink tutu and pointe shoes. Dozens of pink and purple butterflies surround her, forming a delicate circle across the wall.

Serena loves these colors, and she also takes ballet classes. So we figured she’d be absolutely thrilled when she sees the room.

“It’s not a big deal,” I reply, pleased by her reaction.

I love creating things, and I love making people happy. Whenever someone appreciates my work, a soft warmth spreads through my chest, filling me with a quiet sense of satisfaction.

Sometimes I can hardly believe people get this excited about something I create. To me, none of it feels extraordinary. Ideas come naturally, and most of the time, I catch myself wondering if everyone else wouldn’t do the exact same thing, come up with the same ideas.

“You’re joking, right?” Sierra asks, lifting an eyebrow. “Everything you do is pure art, Selene. I think you already know that… or at least you should.”

“I’m glad you like it,” I say instead, smiling. “I can’t wait to see Serena’s reaction.”

“Oh… she’s going to lose her mind,” she says, clasping her hands together.

Then, after spinning in a quick pirouette, she looks around the room, taking in everything we’ve managed to transform.

“It doesn’t even resemble the room from this morning anymore,” she adds with a laugh.

“Well, that was the whole point, wasn’t it?” I admire the progress alongside her.

I still have wallpaper left to put on one wall and a few shelves to mount on another. The new furniture arrived earlier and will be assembled tomorrow, and the chandelier is supposed to get here in the morning.

Tonight, Serena’s sleeping in another room. We want to show her hers once everything is finished. And I want to film her reaction.

In this incredibly short amount of time since becoming part of their lives, I’ve grown to love her so much. And I’m ridiculously emotional about all of this. I want her to be happy. I want her to love her new room.

“I came upstairs to tell you dinner’s almost ready,” Sierra suddenly says, her voice quieter now, more restrained. “Thalia stayed downstairs to take the food out of the oven, and I came to get you.”

She told me this morning that we’d all be having dinner tonight, and you’d think I’d had enough time to prepare myself mentally for it.