Chapter 30

• "I don't even know where to begin," I whispered, my voice barely audible, my fingers trembling as I ran them through my hair. The weight of everything—the lies, the manipulation, the betrayal—was still heavy on me. But it was different now. I was different.
• Cole stood across from me, his dark eyes scanning me as if waiting for the final confession, the last bit of closure we both needed. "You don't have to begin anywhere, Funmi. Just... tell me you're here. Tell me you're staying."
• I met his gaze, heart pounding. The question hung between us like a fragile thread, one that had been pulled taut, stretched thin over weeks of silence, of doubt, of painful truths surfacing like hidden scars.