This is the explosive sequel to "To Capture a Heart."
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Some truths ruin lives. Others set them free.
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Veronica had it all-until, in the span of a few brutal days, she lost everything.
The fallout is fierce. Tensions are at a breaking point. Lo...
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It was the light that woke me.
Not the kind that filters in gently and kisses your eyelids good morning—but the kind that sears through curtains like a judgment. My head throbbed. My mouth tasted like regret. And I was still wearing that uncomfortable dress, which now smelled like beer, guilt, and a fading sense of invincibility.
I sat up too fast. My stomach did a slow flip.
But it wasn't the hangover that made me freeze.
It was the figure by the window—Tyler, arms crossed, jaw tight, like he'd been standing there for hours.
Why does he look like that?
"Morning," I said softly, voice raspy. "How long have you been...?"
He turned slowly. His expression was unreadable. Guarded. Careful.
"Long enough," he said.
Something in me curled inward.
"Did I say anything stupid last night?"
"No," he said flatly.
I swung my legs off the bed, trying to remember what the hell I might have done—or not done. He didn't move. Didn't come closer. That's when I noticed the bag—my bag—half-zipped and slightly out of place.
The room shifted sideways.
He stepped over, pulling my acceptance letter out before I even thought about it.
My heart stopped
He noticed, and his gaze dropped. "It fell out of your bag when I... I didn't mean to... I saw the letter."
I closed my eyes, my heart filled with dread.
"I wasn't snooping."
"I know," I murmured.
"So you are leaving. huh?"
Silence fell like a body hitting water.
I swallowed hard. My voice was barely audible. "I was going to tell you."
"When?" he asked. "After you left? After your plane landed? Or maybe in a postcard—'Hey, by the way, I'm gone. But it was fun.'"
"That's not fair."
"I didn't say it was. I said it was what it looked like."
I stood up, wobbling slightly. "I didn't mean to hide it."
"But you did," he said. "You got into Boston, V. That's not just an acceptance. That's your future. And you looked me in the eyes—and still didn't tell me."
"I was scared."
He laughed, bitter. "Of what?"
"Of this. Of hurting you. Of ruining the one good thing that feels like mine."
