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“I’m sorry, Mom,” Leah said, wishing she could carry all the pain she’d caused them.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” her mom said, her voice shaking with each word. “Like I told you last night, we’ll get through this as a family.”

“Where’s Nova now?” Leah asked.

“She’s outside, sitting by the firepit. But she had somewhat of a breakdown or something this morning. She cut her hair.”

“What?” Leah almost dropped her phone. “Cut it how?”

“Cut what?” Quinton asked, causing Leah to really drop the phone that time.

She held her chest as she glared at him. “What are you doing?” she fussed, reaching down to pick up the phone.

“I’m sorry, I thought you heard me coming downstairs.” He pointed toward the stairs.

“Mom, I dropped the phone. What were you saying?” Leah put the phone on speaker so Quinton could hear as her mom explained how Nova found some scissors and cut almost all her hair off.

Leah didn’t have to ask why. She already knew. Nova was trying to cut out the braids that Leah had done for her. The fact that her sister would go to those extremes to get rid of them showed Leah how bad things were. Not that she needed proof, but it was confirmation.

“Hold on, Leah. I think this is Dr. Yvonne calling the house phone. I’ll call you later,” Martha said before Leah could respond.

Leah held the phone in her hand and stared straight ahead. How was it that she’d spent countless hours fixing families every day and managed to destroy her own in one night?

“I should’ve waited,” Leah said. “I shouldn’t have said anything last night.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered.” Quinton sat next to her. “What difference would it have made? She was going to be upset no matter when we told her. We lied to her, and it sounds like that’s what she’s upset about the most.”

“That’s what she focused on last night, but I don’t think that’s what’s most upsetting to her.” Leah twisted her wedding ring around her finger. “Quinton, are you sure that you didn’t say or do anything that would’ve given her the wrong impression?”

Quinton leaned away from her. “What? No, I didn’t do ... Are you asking if I led her on?”

“I’m trying to figure out what happened to make her suddenly think that maybe there’s a chance for the two of you,” Leah explained. “I know you wouldn’t do anything like that on purpose.”

“On purpose or otherwise.” Quinton stood. “Look, all I did was go over there and try to talk to her about Lance. That’s it. Nothing more or less. And no matter how many times you ask, the answer will still be the same.” His words were as sharp as his stare. “I’m done with this conversation.”

Quinton left the room and then the house without saying another word.

Leah couldn’t remember a time he’d left without kissing her.

Even if they were in the middle of a disagreement, he’d still kiss her before he left.

Her body ached with an unfamiliar emptiness, and a knot of fear and sadness tightened her chest. Was this the beginning of their unraveling?

Leah shook away the thought. She refused to accept that.

No matter what her mind wanted her to believe, what she and Quinton built over the years was strong and could withstand anything, even the return of the one person he never wanted to lose.

“Ready,” Skye said, standing in the doorway dressed in her ripped jeans, crop top, and a hoodie that Leah had the urge to zip to hide Skye’s midriff.

“I’ll drive,” Skye said, holding up her car keys.

Leah ran upstairs to grab her laptop. She fooled herself into believing that she could get some work done while Skye worked on her paper.

When Leah suggested that they try the bookstore, which was also a coffee shop, she thought it would be a nice change while she and Skye worked.

Of course, that was when her life wasn’t in shambles, and it sounded like a perfect idea.

Not so much anymore when the last thing Leah wanted was to be around people.

She wasn’t in the mood to fake a smile or make small talk, as she often found herself doing whenever she was out.

She wanted to go back upstairs, peel out of her clothes, and crawl back underneath the covers.

Skye pulled into a parking space at Literary Lattes and turned off the ignition. She reached behind Leah and pulled her bag up front.

The door chimed when Skye and Leah stepped inside the building. There weren’t a lot of people, which was good.

“Let’s get something to drink first,” Leah suggested, pointing straight ahead at the coffee counter. Leah and Skye had settled into their seats when, to Leah’s horror, they had company.

“Hi, Ms. Lefleur.” The lady smiled.

“Mrs. Matthews, how are you?” Leah added an extra lift to her voice to hide the annoyance she felt.

On any other day, Leah wouldn’t mind running into her patients—or, in Mrs. Matthews’s case, former patients—but today wasn’t any other day.

“This has to be your beautiful daughter.” Mrs. Matthews smiled at Skye. “She looks like you.”

It wasn’t unusual for people to assume that Skye was Leah’s daughter. There was no reason for them to think otherwise. Skye favored Leah, but only because Leah favored Nova.

“This is Skye,” Leah said.

Leah had never considered denying or confirming it in the past, and she hated that she thought about it now.

In Leah’s heart, Skye was her daughter in every way that counted.

Leah was the one who’d coached Skye through all her firsts.

Her first menstrual cycle, her first crush, her first heartbreak, which was caused by her first crush.

It was Leah who taught Skye that ice cream and a rom-com were the perfect cures to ease a broken heart.

There was no rhyme or reason behind the cure. Leah just knew it worked.

Leah liked to think that Skye was the wonderful young lady she turned out to be partly because of her influence.

What would happen if Skye didn’t need Leah anymore?

If she experienced another heartbreak or friendship troubles, would she come to Leah, or would she choose Nova?

Leah’s spirits, which she was sure were as low as they could get, somehow dropped even lower.

She couldn’t lose Skye. And yes, it was selfish because she’d had fifteen years with her, but she wanted all the years. She couldn’t help how she felt.

“I’ll be back.” Skye stood. “It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Matthews.”

“Um. How are Mr. Matthews and the kids?” Leah asked when it was clear that Mrs. Matthews was making no effort to move along.

Mrs. Matthews’s face lit up. “They’re wonderful. Thank you for asking. You know, it’s funny that I ran into you today because Phil and I were talking about you the other day.”

“Oh really?” Leah sat up a little straighter, waiting to hear the good things they had to say about her. She certainly could use some words of praise.

“Yep.” Mrs. Matthews pointed to the seat next to Leah. “May I?”

“Sure, I’m sorry. I should’ve offered you a seat.” Leah reached across the table and moved the papers Skye had taken from her bag out of Mrs. Matthews’s way.

“So, as I was saying, Phil and I were talking, and we were both saying how we were so thankful that we decided to go to therapy. You have no idea how much you helped us.”

Leah smiled for what felt like the first time in years. “And you have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”

“Yeah, because of you, we were able to stop arguing and start listening. At the end of the day, we both realized that we weren’t happy as husband and wife. We were trying to hold on to something that was never meant to be.”

Leah’s shoulders dropped. “What?”

Mrs. Matthews waved her hand as if trying to stop Leah from reacting, but it was too late. The news had already sucked the little glimmer of happiness she felt a second ago.

“No, don’t be upset,” Mrs. Matthews continued. “Getting a divorce was the best decision we could’ve made. Phil and I are better people, better parents, and believe it or not, even better friends because of it.”

“I’m sorry,” Leah said, feeling the need to apologize even as Mrs. Matthews sat across from her with the biggest smile on her face. Clearly, she was happy, but Leah couldn’t help but feel as if she’d failed them somehow. Failed the children whose two-parent home was now split.

“Please don’t apologize. I’m telling you that you helped us.”

“I hear that, but it doesn’t sound like I did. I became a marriage counselor to save marriages, not help tear them apart.”

“But marriage is just a title. Aren’t the people in the marriage the most important thing?

You helped those two people, so you didn’t fail.

When you asked us to remember how we began and what made us want to get married, it was a huge eye opener.

We got married because I was pregnant. We spent years trying to make it work.

And I spent years in second place. I tried to deny it.

Tried to convince myself that it was my imagination, but it wasn’t.

Phil’s heart was somewhere else. He never looked at me the way he looked at the woman he really loved.

I knew if we hadn’t gotten pregnant, he would’ve asked her to marry him.

But Phil has always been a man who wanted to do the right thing, so he married me, but he never stopped loving her.

We let each other go to live the lives we were meant to live. ”

She shared many more words, but Leah’s mind couldn’t stop replaying. Divorce. First wife. Never stopped loving. Leah and Quinton’s situation wasn’t like theirs, but it wasn’t that much different either. Quinton and Nova may have been having problems back then, but they didn’t fall out of love.

Mrs. Matthews stood. “I’ve taken up enough of your time. Thanks again for everything. You may not see it as a good thing, but I promise you it is.” She reached across and touched Leah’s hand.

Leah forced a smile and watched as she walked away.

Failure never felt good in Leah’s body, and it seemed that was all she had been experiencing lately. First, she’d failed as a sister, and now, she failed as a therapist. What was next? She shuddered to even think about it.