Chapter 0370


    I stand on the side with a ss of champagne in my hand, just


    watching. Everyone seems to be happy and in a good mood, which is more | can say about myself.


    We''re at the reception of Rowan and Ava’s second wedding, yet | can’t bring myself to be excited. Don’t get me wrong, | am


    genuinely happy for my brother. Happy that he and Ava were able to fix things, so fucking happy that they got a second chance


    despite how their love story started. That being said, | may sound selfish, but I’ve got my own shit to deal with.


    | can’t get the conversation | had with my father yesterday out of my fucking mind. It’s been eating at me. Driving me crazy.


    Ruining every good vibe | had.


    | should be dancing. | should be checking out the single, sexy women, deciding who is going to be the luckydy to share my


    bed tonight, but here | was brooding, wishing that this damn champagne was something stronger. Something to take the edge


    off.


    My eyes roam the room. There are some seated, some dancing, and some at the bar, which, doesn’t have any real alcohol. That


    pissed me off to no end. The bride and the groom are nowhere to be seen.


    | spot a familiar blonde hair. Just like me, Emma was brooding, hidden in a corner, just watching. Correction, she wasn’t just


    watching, she was hyper focused on Calvin, his date, and Gunner. Her eyes follow their every move, and it’s like she’s frozen in


    time.


    We were all worried about Emma. It’s like she was stuck in her own world. In her own hell. In her own torment, where she is


    tormented day in and day out by the mistakes she made. No one has been able to reach her. No one has been able to help her.


    The only time you see some light shining through her eyes is when Gunner is around. Gunner and Calvin, on the other hand,


    don’t give her the time of day, and that rips her to shreds.


    | truly believe that those two are the only ones that can bring her back, but it’s a long shot. She treated them like nothing, and


    finally they gave up on her. Now, even Gunner doesn’t want anything to do with her.


    | feel sorry for her, but I’m a big believer in owning your shit. Just like Rowan and Ava did. It’s the only way to move forward. |


    believe that Emma hasn''t been able to do that. Instead, she’s drowning in a lot of guilt and regrets. gulped down the rest of the


    liquid before snatching another ss from a passing waiter. Champagne wasn’t strong enough, but for now it''ll do the trick till |


    get home.


    A sh of white catches my attention. No one had noticed them yet, but | had. Rowan and Ava had appeared, and Ava looked


    disheveled. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what they’d been doing those couple of minutes they’d disappeared.


    I smile at that. Happy that Rowan had finally found his happiness. For a long time, I''d med Ava for his behavior and


    unhappiness. It took years to realize that every reaction, every behavior, and his unhappiness were on him and not Aya.


    He could have been happy all those years if only he’d seen Ava for who she was. A woman who was in love with him. He could


    have been happy with her if only he’d chosen to let go of the past. To let go of the memory of Emma and embrace his life with


    Ava. Good thing he realized the truth before it was toote.


    Ahard p on the back pulls me back to the present. “Why the hell are you brooding on my wedding day? Did the singledies


    turn down your advances?”