Chapter 4

He said nothing, so I answered for him. "You don't. You don't know I engraved those four words myself, and you don't know my mother left me only that one stone.

"But you’re certainly good at lending things out.

"You lent it to her to boost her prestige, lent it to her for her engagement. By the end of it all, I’m the one who feels like an outsider that doesn’t belong."

Charles's throat bobbed. "I didn't know..."

"So what?"

"If I'd known..."

"There are no what-ifs."

I looked at him. "It's not that I never told you. It’s because…