Page 122 of Lumi

“I meant a verbal one. You were there with us. You could tell Serena how hurt I was and that we both think she’s a mean bitch for stealing Storm from me.”

“Can we stop giving Serenaallthe blame?” Jolene asked. “Storm is the one who left you. No woman can steal a man who doesn’t want to leave a relationship. Storm made that choice.”

Nathan frowned. “That’s not the point. Serena is a fucking snake. I thought she was the most incredible woman until she pulled that stunt after we got back home.” Nathan’s tone was hard.

“Then you tell her,” River encouraged him. “You’re not afraid of confrontations like I am. Someone should tell Serena that just because she’s a star doesn’t mean she can get away with hurting people.”

Nathan looked thoughtful. “I might do that! But not at a sit-down brunch. The message I have for her is short and won’t take long to deliver.”

“Then you should go tonight,” River said with excitement. “Ask her from me how she can be so delusional to think that I still want to see her after what she did.”

“Is Serena still with Storm?” Kit asked.

I nodded. “According to the magazines, they’re very happy.”

“One headline last week said that he proposed to her,” River whispered and teared up again.

Jolene got up from Atlas’ lap and walked over to squat in front of River. “Sweetie, listen to me. It’s clear that you’re still hurting and trust me: we all understand. Rejection is the most painful feeling, but you have to trust that the universe was looking out for you. You deserve so much better than to be with a man who doesn’t appreciate you.”

The edges of River’s lips turned downward.

“Instead of seeing Serena as the enemy, try to think of her as a tool used by your guardian angels to show you that Storm wasn’t right for you.”

“But I loved him.”

Jolene was stroking River’s legs, her expression sympathetic. “You need closure to move on. Serena is offering that to you by inviting you to meet up with her. Don’t send Nathan to throw insults at her. Show up and speak your truth like the strong woman I know you can be.”

River shook her head. “I’m not like you. I never had that sort of strength.”

Jolene sighed. “If you can’t talk to Serena in person, at least write her a letter. Tell her exactly how you feel and how hard it’s been for you. Get it all out. Whether she’s open to listening or not is irrelevant. The important part is that you get it off your chest.”

“A letter.” River nodded. “I think I could do that.”

“Good. Then Nathan can deliver it to her and wait while she reads it. And sweetie, may I give you a piece of advice?”

River gave a small nod.

“It seems to me that you have a pattern of unhealthy relationships with men. How about you take time to focus on the most important relationship you’ll ever have?”

“You mean family?”

“No, I mean your relationship with yourself. Take time to develop that. Forget about men for a while and allow yourself time to heal. You’re not over Storm, and quite frankly, there are probably other heartbreaks in your past that are still tripping you up. It’s not fair to use men as distractions like you used Tyler.”

“He used me too,” River defended herself. “Tyler gained more than eighty thousand followers on Twitter when we started dating.

Jolene blinked her eyes. “But, River, don’t you see that using people has nothing to do with love?

Liv came from the kitchen with a tissue. “Here, darling. Storm isn’t worth crying over.”

River took the tissue, looked up to the ceiling, and used it to dry under her eyes, and then she carefully dried off moisture from her eyelashes. It saddened me that she clearly had experience with saving her make-up while crying, because it told me that my sister cried more than she should.

“I have to get back to the cooking. Will you be all right?” Liv asked with concern.

“Yes.” River sniffled and gave a smile to Liv, who hurried back to the kitchen.

“Don’t worry. Your make-up looks perfect.” Jolene opened her arms. “Now, let me give you a hug.”

River closed her eyes when she hugged Jolene. Even from a few seats away, I could feel the warmth between the two women. I watched them and marveled at the wonder that Jolene, whom River had only met a limited number of times, was better at connecting to River than I was.