Chapter 42 -CELINE'S POV- I don't remember the last time I breathed out without it sounding like a defense mechanism . The night is too quiet - the kind of quiet that makes your thoughts louder than they should be . I'm curled into one of the old chairs on the back terrace , nursing a cup of tea that's gone cold , trying not to think about the things i shouldn't be feeling Or the man I shouldn't be watching . The glow from the windows behind us flickers against the stone like a soft warning : ' You don't belong here ! Caroline slumps next to me , barefoot , in an oversized sweater that probably costs more than my entire month's salary . She curls the stem of her wineglass like she's considering telling a secret , I wish she wouldn't . " You don't hate him as much as you pretend ," she says . I blink at her , caught off guard by the sudden detour into dangerous territory . " I don't pretend anything . " I say , quietly . Too quietly . She hums , not bothering to hide her amusement . " Then why do you steal glances at him when he's not looking ? " My stomach twists . She says it so casually , but it lands like a slap . I look back out into the dark , not answering . Not denying it either . That would give it power . Caroline sips slowly . " He wasn't always like this , you know. Cold . Distrusting . Detached ." I risk a glance at her . " No ? " She shakes her head , a little wistful . " He used to laugh . Loud . The real kind . He used to throw himself into things . Now he just... guards everything like it might break if he lets it breathe . " I don't mean to ask it . But it slips out anyway . "What happened ? " Caroline pauses . And for once , she doesn't smirk . She just ... " softens " " His father happened , " she says . " A broken engagement . And something else . " I wait . She looked at me like she was wondering how much I could handle . " A betrayal , " she finally says . The word lingers , heavy and sharp . I shit . " A woman ? " Caroline nods . " A woman he trusted . Someone who made him believe in more than money . Someone who made promises and then used him . " 1/4 12:02 Thu , 31 Jul G G 02 T Chapter 42 That should not affect me . It's not my story . But the ache in my chest says otherwise , I clutch my cup tighter , trying not to imagine what it must feel like to believe in someone - and then watch them weaponize it " I think he's afraid , " Caroline says , her voice like wind against a paper door . " Of wanting something he can't control . " I let out a soft laugh , bitter and hollow . " That sounds like his problem . Not mine . " " Of course , " she says . " But then why do you look at him like that ? " I don't respond . Not because I don't have an answer . But because the answer is the problem . He terrifies me . Not in the way men usually do . Not with threats or anger . But with the fact that beneath every warning in his eyes , every wall he puts up , there's something " aching ' to be known , And I don't know what scares me more - him pushing me away . Or me wanting to stay . Caroline leans back , folding her arms . " Be careful , " she says . " Men like him don't love cleanly . They bleed on whoever tries to hold them She gets up and disappears inside , leaving her empty glass behind like a reminder : this world swallows people like me . I sit a while longer . Eventually , the tea is too cold to drink and the night is too heavy to carry . I start walking back through the corridors , careful not to wake Caesar in the room . That's when I saw him . Hunter . 200000 He's in his study , the door slightly ajar , a beam of warm light spilling into the hallway like a private thought left unstated . He doesn't see me at first - his hands are braced on the desk , shoulders tight , head low . He looks exhausted . And not just physically . He looks like a man who hasn't forgiven himself for something . Something deep . Something bleeding . I should turn around . I should give him the space he's never asked for , the distance he always demands . But I don't . Maybe because I want to see who he is when he isn't being watched . Maybe because , at this moment , I'm lonelier than l want to admit And then ... He lifts his head . Our eyes meet . The air shifts . It's not anger in his face / Or suspicion . Or disdain . It's something else . Something raw . I don't move . Neither does he . 2/4 TZUZ Chapter 421 The silence between us isn't empty . It's full . Of every word , we haven't said . Every assumption we've made . Every line we've drawn in chalk , pretending we won't ever cross them . I should walk away . But I don't . Because sometimes ... You don't run from the fire . You walk toward it . And pray it doesn't burn you alive . The call comes just after midnight . I almost don't answer . Caesar was finally asleep , his little breaths slow and even against the baby monitor's soft hum . The small apartment is dark except for the muted touch of the kitchen light I forgot to turn off . My body aches from the day - laundry , dishes , polishing silver I can not afford to touch , and Hunter's mother's sharp tongue still echoing in my skull . But the screen lights up with ' Mom and something in me answers before I can stop myself " Hello ? " She skips hello . She always does . * Your sister needs help . " Just like that . No warning . No question of how I'm doing . No asking if Caesar's okay . No wondering if I've caten . Just Jesse . The golden girl . The chosen one . I press my thumb into the edge of the counter , gripping the phone tighter . har " She's going through a rough time , " Mom adds like that makes it better . Like that changes anything . I close my eyes " Let me guess , " I say . " She spent all her money partying again ? " There's a pause . The kind of pause that mesys I'm right . " Celine ... " she sighs . " Family helps the family ." A slow ache spreads across my chest . Not the sharp kind . The deep kind . The one that lives in the lungs and sits heavy in the ribs . I stare down at the floor , at the way the moonlight cuts through the slats of the blinds , painting stripes across the old wood . " You wouldn't be so selfish if your father were still alive . " That one lands hard . Harder than it should be . Dad's been gone four years now . Caesar was barely one when he died . I went back for the funeral . Wore black . Held Caesar in my arms while my mother and every aunt and second cousin whispered like I wasn't standing right there . " She had a baby out of wedlock . " " Such a shame . She used to be so bright " They made me sit in the back pew . Said it was better that way . Now she's using his name like a weapon . Like his ghost would shame me into handing over money I barely have . 3/4 1 " I can't , " I whisper , throat tight . " Can't or won't ? " she snaps . " We all made sacrifices for you . " I laugh . Not because it's funny . Because if I don't , I might scream . Might throw the phone across the room and finally let it break like everything else they tried to bury . They didn't sacrifice for me . I They erased me . They scrubbed me out of family photos . Blocked my number when I asked for help . Sold Jesse's college story like it was a family win while pretending Caesar didn't exist . I glance toward his room . His tiny arm is flung over his head . He sleeps like he trusts the world won't break him . I want to keep it that way for as long as I can . " I won't take from my son to clean up her mess , " I say , voice steady now . Stronger than I feel . " She's your sister , " my mom spits . " You've changed . " I close my eyes . And this time , I let the silence win . Because yes . I have changed . I don't beg anymore . I don't chase people who only remember me when they need something . I don't apologize for choosing Caesar " I have to go ," I say quietly . Before she can respond , I hang up . And for a second , I just stand there , phone still pressed to my ear like it can hold all the pieces together . My heart pounds . Not from fear . From release . Because for the first time in a long time ... I chose mysel And Caesar . But I know this won't be the last call . My family doesn't let go . They circle like ghosts , always waiting to haunt me again . I slide the phone into a drawer . I let the silence settle . And I remind myself- This time , I made the right choice , I did not break . But next time ... I might not be so lucky . Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!