Blood Ties and Broken Vows
I didn’t want to come back. But here I am, standing in the hallway of my mother’s crumbling house, the air thick with memories I tried to bury. Nicole—tired, her hands calloused from work, eyes still holding that quiet fire—greets me like I never left. And yet, the moment I see her, something dark stirs inside me. A pull I’ve denied for years. It’s wrong, I know it’s wrong—but I can’t look away. Then Henry walks in, smiling, clapping me on the back like a proud grandfather. But his eyes… they linger on her just a little too long. And I swear, beneath his kindness, he’s watching me too.