Chapter 2

I couldn't sleep that night. Austin's words echoed in my head: "You need to be more understanding." Understanding? Of what—that my boyfriend had been kissing another girl behind my back?

My phone buzzed with a text from Jessica: "You okay? That was brutal tonight."

I stared at the ceiling, my fingers unconsciously touching the necklace my mom had given me. The memories flooded back—not just of tonight, but of three months ago. My birthday.

Austin had promised we'd celebrate together. He'd said he had something special planned.

"I've got the whole day cleared," he'd told me, kissing my forehead. "Just you and me, Val."

But that morning, he'd gotten a text. Thea needed him. Something about her car breaking down.

"I'll be back in an hour," he'd said, already grabbing his jacket. "Don't start without me."

That hour stretched into three. I'd sat alone in our favorite restaurant, watching other couples toast with champagne while my candles melted onto the table.

When he finally called, he was breathless. "Val, I'm so sorry. Thea's having a crisis. I can't just leave her."

"What about our plans?" I'd asked, hating how small my voice sounded.

"We'll reschedule," he'd promised. "You understand, right?"

I'd fallen down the stairs that weekend, twisting my ankle badly enough to need crutches. Austin had helped me to the hospital, but left as soon as Thea called.

Two days later, I was still hobbling around campus when my phone buzzed with a news alert: "Fire at Downtown Karaoke Bar."

My heart stopped. Austin had mentioned taking Thea there to cheer her up.

I called him immediately. No answer.

Despite my ankle throbbing, I grabbed my crutches and called a rideshare. The driver kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror as I winced with each bump in the road.

"Should you be going out with that ankle?" he asked.

"I need to find someone," I said, staring at my phone as I tried Austin again.

The karaoke bar was chaos when we arrived. Fire trucks blocked the street, their lights painting everything in flashes of red and blue. Smoke billowed from the building's windows.

"Austin!" I shouted, abandoning my crutches and limping forward. Pain shot up my leg, but I pushed through it.

People streamed out of the building, coughing and disoriented. I grabbed at sleeves and jackets.

"Austin Rose? Have you seen him?"

No one knew. No one cared. They were too busy escaping.

I pressed closer to the building. The heat was intense now, and smoke burned my lungs with each breath.

"Ma'am, you need to back up!" A firefighter tried to redirect me.

"He's in there!" I insisted, my voice breaking. "My boyfriend—Austin Rose!"

The firefighter hesitated, then nodded grimly. "We'll find him."

I waited, coughing, my ankle screaming in protest. When the building was finally declared clear, I stumbled forward, pushing past the yellow tape.

"Austin!"

The parking lot was full of evacuated patrons. I limped through them, calling his name.

That's when I saw them.

Austin was kneeling in the parking lot, his arms wrapped around Thea. Her face was streaked with tears, her body shaking with sobs.

"It's okay," he murmured, stroking her hair. "I've got you. You're safe now."

I stood frozen, my palms bleeding from where I'd crawled through debris, my ankle swollen to twice its normal size.

"Austin," I called softly.

He looked up, surprise flickering across his face. "Valeria? What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you," I said, my voice barely audible over the wail of sirens.

His eyes darted to my bloodied hands, then quickly back to Thea.

"You're hurt," he observed, but made no move to come to me.

"Thea's really shaken up," he continued, his attention returning to her trembling form. "The flames came so fast. She thought she was going to die in there."

I took a step closer, wincing as pain shot through my ankle.

"Austin, I—"

"Can you give us a minute?" he interrupted, his tone firm. "I need to calm her down. She's having a panic attack."

I stood there, bleeding and limping, as the man I loved cradled another woman in his arms.

"Of course," I whispered, though no one was listening anymore.

I turned away, pressing my sleeve against my bleeding palms. Behind me, I could hear Austin's soothing murmurs to Thea, his voice gentle in a way it rarely was with me anymore.

As I hobbled toward the street to find help for my wounds, I realized something had changed inside me. The pain in my body was nothing compared to the ache in my chest—but somewhere in that ache, something new was forming.

Something that felt dangerously like resolve.