Chapter 57

• — Vanessa Ferrer —
• I always knew that, sooner or later, George would come knocking at my door again. Just like he always did when his life fell apart. But this time, something inside me had changed. I was no longer the girl who accepted being someone’s shadow, much less the shadow of a man who had never given me the slightest value. I was tired. Tired of him, tired of Claire, tired of being the backup plan.
• When the phone rang and I saw George’s name glowing on the screen, I sighed, knowing I shouldn’t answer. I knew he only looked for me when he was in trouble, when his manipulations fell apart, and he needed a new strategy to come out on top. But for some reason—maybe the lingering, stupid hope I always had that he might change—I ended up answering.