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She’d told me about the encounter she’d had with Liam and Jules years ago when I’d asked her to send my final letter to Liam. Since then, she’d grown cautious. While she always worked a lot, leaving little time to go and do other things, that encounter with Liam and his sister had left her feeling wildly uncomfortable. She wanted to avoid running into any member of the Westwood family, because it was truly awkward for everyone involved. I felt horrible for putting her—and them—in such a position.

And even though I wasn’t quite sure how it was possible, it was only ever that one time when she’d had to experience it. Then again, it wasn’t as though my mom hung around in the same circles as the Westwood family.

“None of this sounds bad. I realize you haven’t seen or spoken to Jules in years, but I don’t quite understand why running into her would lead to you seeming so distressed. Did something bad happen when you saw Jules?”

Quickly, I shook my head. “No. No, not at all. Juleswas wonderful. She was lovely. It’s just that…” I trailed off. If my mom had such a strong reaction to hearing that I’d run into Jules, I could only imagine how telling her about Liam would impact her.

“What is it?” she pressed.

“Liam stopped in the shop yesterday morning.”

Shock leaked into her features, her lips parting with disbelief. “What… what did he say? What happened?”

I bit my lip, closing my eyes and shaking my head as I did. The pain I still felt from that encounter was as fresh as ever. “It wasn’t good. He came because Jules had told him I was back in town. I guess he needed to confirm that was the truth. But it was awful.”

My mom reached for my hand, linking her fingers through mine to offer comfort. Instinctively, I squeezed it.

“I hurt him so much, Mom. The pain he’s in is just… I never meant to hurt him like that. But there’s something else lingering, too. Liam had always been so loving toward me, and I saw a side of him I didn’t recognize. He was… He was angry.”

Her grip on my hand tightened before her thumb stroked lightly over my skin. “You should apologize.”

“I did. I tried to. But I think it’s too late.”

“It’s never too late to apologize. As long as you mean it, then it’s never too late.”

Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t bear to see the compassion and sympathy in my mother’s gaze. I tore my attention away from her, diverting my eyes to nearly every other surface in the hospital room to avoid her stare.

My throat was painfully tight, and my voice came out choked. “He won’t forgive me. He shouldn’t, either. I don’t deserve it.”

“You should still try, Layla,” she urged me. “I know this isn’t what you came here to do, but maybe this is a sign. Maybe it would be good for the both of you to talk about it. If nothing else, I believe he deserves to know the truth. As much as I’ve supported your right to choose what you believed was best in your life, I always thought it was a mistake that you walked away from him.”

My head snapped back in her direction. “Are you suggesting I try to get back together with him? Because I have to warn you now that it’d be unreasonable to believe he’d ever want another thing to do with me.”

Sadness washed over her. The weight of it was so heavy, I could feel it pressing down on us. “I’ve always had such a difficult time understanding why you believe you aren’t worth the love Liam had to give. I can’t speak for what would happen between the two of you now. I’m not sure you even know what you want. But I think you owe it to the both of you to try to talk it out, even if it’s just to offer him some clarity and give yourself some peace.”

I sighed. “I was plenty peaceful until he learned I was here.”

“Now that’s not true.”

“What?”

Soft laughter spilled out of her. “I know my daughter, Layla. You do a great job of pretending you’re fine. Or, well, maybe you are doing okay, but the reality is that you haven’t been happy for the last eight years.”

I pressed my lips together. She wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t been happy for the last eight years.

It was the biggest mistake of my life to walk away from him. I knew it before I’d even done it. But for some reason, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to come back and fix things.

What would I have done?

What would I have even said?

Worse, even if I could have mustered up the courage to approach Liam years ago to make things right, would he have even wanted to listen?

I was so caught up in the thoughts I was having about it all, so lost in the questions, it wasn’t until my mom spoke that I snapped out of it. “Layla?”

“Yeah?”

“What are you going to do?”