Page 80 of Nine Months to Love

“Love is never enough by itself. You need trust, too. And communication. And a whole lot of patience.”

“We’re working on it.”

“Good. Because you deserve to be happy, Liv. You’ve spent your whole life trying to prove yourself to your black hole of a mother, to the world at large. Maybe it’s time to just be happy.”

“I’m trying,” I say.

“I know you are.” She starts to pack away her stuff. “I think that’s enough for today,” she says. “You look exhausted.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best. I’m kinda wrecked.”

“Go rest. I’ll handle the contractors and get back to you with updates.”

“Thank you, Camille. For everything. I don’t deserve you.”

She stands and pulls me into another hug. “That’s what friends are for.”

As she heads toward the door, I remember something. “Wait. Camille?”

She turns. “Yeah?”

“I meant to ask you something and it keeps slipping my mind. That investor, Nat— I mean, Genevieve. How did that meeting come about?”

Camille tilts her head. “Who? Oh. Uh, she contacted me. She said she heard about us through Dr. Heller at Mass Gen and she wanted to meet with us to discuss investment options. It’s weird, though. She never followed up after your meeting with her. I tried calling her a few times, but no answer. Why do you ask?”

“No reason. Just curious.”

Camille gives me a look that says she doesn’t quite believe me, but she doesn’t push. “Okay. Well, I’ll see you soon. Take care of yourself, okay?”

After she leaves, I sit on the sofa for a long time, staring at nothing.Dr. Heller.Genevieve heard about us through Dr. Heller. If I could get in touch with Dr. Heller, maybe he could help me find Natalia.

The thought makes my pulse quicken. But it also fills me with dread.

Because if I find Natalia, what then? Do I tell Stefan? Do I keep it from him?

He made it clear what he’d do if he found her. And I can’t let that happen. I can’t let him hurt her, no matter what she’s done.

But I also can’t keep lying to him. Not if we’re going to make this work.

I press my hands to my face and breathe.

This is impossible. All of it. I want to believe that Stefan and Natalia could find some kind of peace. If they could just talk, really talk, and maybe understand each other, then maybe… But I know that’s naive. Childish, even.

Stefan doesn’t want to understand his mother. He wants her gone.

And Natalia... I don’t know what Natalia wants. Revenge? Reconciliation? Both? Neither?

I think about the journal she gave me, the one written by Stefan’s father. I haven’t had the courage to go back and read more of it yet. It’s sitting in my suitcase, wrapped in a scarf like it might explode if I touch it.

Maybe it’s time to open it. Maybe there are answers there.

Or maybe there are just more questions.

I stand and head upstairs to the bedroom Stefan and I are sharing. Our suitcases are still by the door, unpacked. I kneel down and unzip mine, digging through clothes until I find the journal.

It’s small, leather-bound, worn at the edges. The kind of thing someone would carry in their pocket everywhere they go.

I sit on the edge of the bed and open it.