Page 48 of I Wish I Would’ve Warned You (Forbidden Wishes #3)

COLE

T he damage from a scandal burns in layers.

First comes the initial hit—the public fallout, the headlines, the gut-punch humiliation. Then the second wave: silence, shame, the replay of every choice that led to this. But the worst part—the deepest part—is how long it takes to heal.

Because the healing process isn’t quick. It isn’t clean.

And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I forgot to insulate me and Emily from the burns first.

I let the fire touch everything.

And now I don’t know what’s left to salvage.