Page 59 of The Lilac River

"Nothing," I said quickly. "Nash doesn’t need to know. He hates me. It won’t change anything."

"No way," Mom said, sudden fire flashing in her eyes. "You’re telling him. Even if nothing comes of it. Even if he still walks away. You deserve to be free of this."

"She’s right," Grandma added. "Dragging secrets around this town? That’s no way to live. Why do you think you married that cardboard cutout of a principal?"

"Grandma," I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

"You did. You married safe. You married boring. Because deep down, you knew Nash was the one person who could actually break your heart."

"She’s got a point," Mom murmured.

"It doesn’t matter," I said. "It’s irrelevant. Nash and I… we’re oil and water now."

"But what if—" Mom started.

"No, Mom. We have separate lives now."

Grandma’s eyes didn’t waver. She was holding back something, or maybe just giving me space to catch up.

"What did we say about telling the truth, Lily? About being surprised at the outcome?"

"I know, but…" I exhaled, defeated. "It feels pointless."

"You never know," Grandma said softly. "Love makes fools of all of us. Sometimes fools get lucky."

Mom slid her arm through mine and leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Don’t let your life drift, sweetheart," she whispered. "Don’t be like me, holding back from love because you don’t think you deserve it. Missing out because of someone else’s sins."

I stared at her, stunned. I’d never seen her like this. Never heard her voice like that.

For the first time, I saw the loneliness she’d carried all these years. Not anger. Not bitterness. Just quiet endurance. The same kind I’d learned too well.

"Mom..."

She waved it off with a watery smile. "It is what it is. But it doesn’t have to be your story too."

As we sat there, three women, three lives bent by the same storm, I realized the noise in my head had finally quieted. Not gone. But quiet.

Peace. Real peace.

"So?" Grandma said after a moment. "Are you going to tell Nash?"

I looked between them, heart thudding, throat tight.

"No," I whispered. "It’s the past. Nothing can change that."

Because as much as I wanted Nash to know the truth, I wasn’t ready to watch his face harden again. To see disappointment etched where love once lived.

I couldn’t risk it.

Not yet.

Chapter 23

Enemy – Imagine Dragons

Nash