The man who proposed under a rain-soaked awning outside a closed bakery because he couldn’t wait one more day. The man who held Lily in the hospital and cried because her tiny fingers wrapped around his thumb. The man who once danced with me barefoot in this very foyer, humming off-key while pasta boiled over in the kitchen.
Had he vanished?
Or had I invented him because I needed to believe love could survive anything?
Mr. Meyers turned to one of the officers. “Please escort Mr. Carter and Ms. Reed to collect only verified personal belongings from the main-floor office and guest room. Nothing else leaves the residence without Mrs. Carter’s approval.”
Vanessa looked at Daniel with desperation. “Daniel, do something.”
He stared at the house behind me.
And then, strangely, his fear returned.
Not because he was losing the home.
Because he was afraid of what was inside it.
