It's incredibly fascinating how quickly things changed. A week ago, I was engaged to Ambrose, a finalist in Competition of the Century, and most importantly, happy. Minutes became hours, hours became days, days became weeks, and before I knew it, I was right where I was when I got to Paris.

Lost, confused, afraid, and broken.

Sunlight swooshed through the windowsill, which sprinkled too much enthusiasm than I felt like. Groaning, I bent my neck away from the daylight and slowly dissolved into my dazed, sleepy state. Dreaming was the only way I could live in an imaginary world and avoid the reality of my life falling apart.

Just like that, a soul-shattering scream of terror filled the room, instantly causing my hands to cover my ears. I punched the couch in frustration as the wailing grew louder by the second, making my head ache like a motherfucker. This was my punishment for drinking three bottles of vodka instead of being a good girl.

I jolted forward, my fist clenching. "Holy shit! If you don't get that damn baby, Kasey, I might commit a crime."

"Hey!" Kasey thumped my head as she strolled past. "I would be moving faster if you didn't guilt me into drinking with you last night."

I narrowed my eyes into murderous slits. "Don't act like you didn't want some! I saw you eyeing the white claws I brought."

Kasey was already halfway to Darius, and before I knew it, silence filled the apartment, and my hibernation was making a return. My eyes shut as I sank back into the couch, snuggling into my pillow the only lover I'll ever have. The male species sucked. I didn't hate Ambrose, but I also hated him. Honestly, it made no fucking sense, but I hated him for making me fall in love with him and unable to go five seconds without thinking of him.

And his handsome, stupid face.

And fascinating personality to go along with it.

And his prodigious heart that I wished belonged to me.

Dang, it.

The waterworks were coming out, trickling down my cheeks to my quivering lips. One hundred and twenty-three points to heartbreak and zero to me because it's only been five hours since my last crying session.

My head jerked forward from the sound of a plastic container slamming down by my ears. With one eye open, I saw Kasey swaying a glass of water in her hand and the bottle of Advil on the coffee table.

"Davina." Kasey pouted. "Please tell me you're crying because your head hurts and not because of him."

After wiping my tears away, I grabbed the water from her grip and unscrewed the bottle of Advil. "Yeah. My head hurts like a motherfucker." But my heart ached like it's been repeatedly run over, especially when the memory of Ambrose carrying Lana darted through my mind.

Kasey sighed, her arms wiggling up and down for Darius's enjoyment. "Davina... When are you going to tell me what happened? You guys looked so happy last time you came here."

I swallowed the pill and emotions or tried to. "Everything isn't always what it seemed."

"That's all I'm getting from you, huh?" Kasey arched her brow, shaking her head as her gaze fell upon her baby.

"Mmm," I hummed.

"You're a bigger baby brat than Darius," Kasey mumbled under her breath as she lowered him into the playpen.

I gasped. "I am not! I wasn't the one screaming for my life two minutes ago just because I'm hungry!"

With an amused gleam, Kasey cruised over to the stove and grabbed a saucepan. "It was payback from storming in a week ago on his bedtime and keeping him up all night. Darius is out to get you. Why else would he vomit on you the one time you fed him?"

I cringed as I remembered the vomit dribbling from my hair to my shirt. "He's a demon. He was giggling like it didn't just torture me." My eyes narrowed while I craned my neck over the playpen to see Darius playing with a block. "He's probably planning my murder now. I'm that block he's banging against his head."

"Well, he is his father's child," Kasey joked, which came off alarming.

I cleared my throat. "Have you run into him since he left?"

Kasey shook her head. "The chances of running into him at a grocery store or Kohls is nonexistent. He rather party at a club than step foot in there."

"How did you guys meet?" I asked, kicking my feet onto the coffee table.

The sounds of plates and utensils clashed against each other in the background. "At the hospital," she blurted, causing my eyes to widen. "I know! I was living my own Grey's Anatomy dream. He was my doctor."

I darted in shock. "Wait, what? You were barely fifteen after the accident. Please tell me he didn't make a move until you were of age. Not like it makes it any better, but..."

"Yeah... He's an asshole. I was naive, vulnerable, and young. He used it to his advantage and made me fall in love with him. It's easy when I spent two years in rehab, and frequent appointments together. I didn't have anyone else. Mom would rather spend her time on yachts than check up on me," Kasey spilled.

Her story brought a new sense of clarity to me. Kasey might've been shielded from the spotlight, but her life didn't turn out much better. We went through separate paths, different traumas, yet we bounded together from our family disaster. Unlike most teenagers, we didn't have parents to propel us forward on the right path. Kasey and I were manipulated, groomed, and destroyed, but who was there to warn us to stop?

However, the beauty in our mistakes was the unexpected consequences that came with them. Like Darius. Kasey could spend her adulthood regretting her relationship with his father, but Darius was the outcome. A blessing. I spent my youth drowning in alcohol to forget the way Colton toyed with my mind, but in the end, I became stronger.

That's how I knew, no matter how outrageous the concept of happiness seemed to me, I would be okay. If Ambrose chose Lana over me, I would be okay. Because I went through so much worse and came back twenty times brighter.

My mistakes shaped me into the person I am, and I couldn't be any more grateful.

"I could go my whole life without seeing Mom again," I stated, drumming my fingers against my belly.

Kasey released a breath mixed with laughter. "Me too! She's due back in two weeks. She has monthly visits, so she could tell herself that she cares about at least one of us."

I snickered. "Yeah, she knows better than to bother me. Like when I got an acute concussion during the competition, and she took me home only to lock me in my room. Literal torture."

"Ready?"

My eyebrows bunched together. "For what?"

Kasey brought two bowls of oatmeal with berries, a line of peanut butter, and chocolate chips to the living room. My eyes morphed into heart-shapes while my mouth watered at the sight of this masterpiece. Maybe Kasey was the true chef in the family.

"Now that I got you speaking, it's time to open up about Ambrose." Kasey shoved her palm over my mouth before I could protest. "Davina, you aren't going to get over him or stop this cycle of drinking unless you open up to what's happening inside. I might be younger, but maybe I can give some advice."

I crammed two spoonfuls of the oatmeal in my mouth. A slight attempt or excuse to refrain from speaking about the situation because it's way too painful to think about. Possibly in a year, I'll be ready to speak about it.

"Davina quit stalling." A slight hint of frustration washed over her face. "I just don't want to see you go down the same path."

I thrust my fingers through my tangled hair. "But it's painful to talk about."

Her arm draped over my shoulder, caressing it up and down, and pressed my head into the crook of her neck. Kasey's scent lingered through my nose; flowery scents mixed with baby lotion?

"I think things get easier if you're able to share the pain with someone else, and who's better to share with than your baby sister?" Kasey smirked, wiggling her eyebrows.

I laughed. "Well, it's pretty confusing."

"Try me."

I sighed before I began this long story. "Basically, Milo thought to fix my image, I should get into a PR relationship with Ambrose. He agreed because his best friend, who he's been in love with forever, thought he had a girlfriend. So, we spent the first few months hating each other and fighting until a friendship bloomed. Just like the books with fake dating came feelings, and I fell for his brightness in this cold, dark world, but he's always wanted his best friend."

Kasey munched on her oatmeal, sending an occasional nod and a quick glance towards the quiet baby.

"Then apparently, I confessed my feelings to him while I was drunk? I don't remember, but that's what he said. So, then he admitted he liked me and wanted to be with me. It was truly amazing. There's no other word to describe how I felt around him. But then his father died, and he went through some shit mentally and tried to kiss her. I forgave him, but I never forgot. And on the morning of the finale, he promised to come and support me and I really needed it. But he never came. I went to his apartment worried something happened to him to find him carrying Lana in his arms."

Wet, snotty cries escaped my lips. "We talked, and he kept mentioning how much Lana needed him like my feelings were less significant than hers. I know she fainted and I might've been a bitch for overreacting, but why couldn't he acknowledge my feelings? It hurt. I'm his fiance, bu-."

"Woah, wait a minute!" Her crystal blue eyes widened, mouth dropped. "When did he propose? I felt like I missed a part."

"Yeah, it was a spur of the moment. A beautiful moment, but very unexpected. Anyway, as his fiance, I think my feelings should weigh more than hers, but I also don't wanna be a bitch. His mother is a horrible person, and his friends are all he has, so who am I to take him away from them? But what I really want is to be put first, to not compare myself to her anymore, to feel like he truly loves me. Only me. So I broke up with him." My breathing came out ragged from my lifetime of rambling.

Kasey coughed. "You weren't joking when you said this was insane."

I swallowed a spoonful of oatmeal. "Yup."

"You did the right thing, Davina." Kasey slid her hand over mine, her warmth radiating like family love. "I can see how much you love him and want to be with him, but the relationship won't work out if you spend most of it worried about her. You aren't wrong for wanting him to place boundaries between them, especially if he tried kissing her... If he really loves you, he will do anything to have you back, even if it means figuring himself out first."

Tears dropped from my eyes like when rain fell from the sky, pitter-patting down to my chest. "That's the thing... Wh-a-at if he chooses her? It would make me feel so insignificant like I never mattered to him. I hate love! Why did he have to make me fall in love with him if he was going to stay hung up on her? I hate him. Ugh!" I dropped my head on the couch, wetness seeping into my shirt.

"The ball is in his court, Davina. You were amazing and strong, and if he doesn't realize that, then it's his loss. I'll be here for you in whatever way it goes. Just don't stop your life because of a break-up. Life goes on, you know."

I nodded, slightly. "Yeah. I have to learn to manage life with sadness." A green light flashed through my mind. "That reminded me, Milo said, to call him."

"When did he say that?" Kasey asked, gathering the two empty bowls.

"Last night after finishing that first bottle," I replied, dropping to the floor and stretching my arms to the crooks and cracks of the couch.

"You're like ten hours late," Kasey pointed out.

I shrugged. "Milo knows the deal." A satisfied smile spread across my face as I found my phone stuffed between the pillows. "I'll be back."

I closed the door behind me. The ringing filled my ears as I stared at the plain beige walls until Milo answered. "Look who decided to finally call," he teased, annoyance spiked in his tone.

"Just be happy I decided not to fire you after pulling that little stunt," I retorted.

"The way I'm getting punished for caring about your future." Milo deeply sighed. "Anyway, I called because I got a call from the producers of that indie film. Midnight Wind."

Indie films were a hit or miss. Milo preferred staying on the safer route with a big blockbusters movie franchise. I haven't acted in an indie film since I tried breaking into the industry. They're a phenomenal way to demonstrate your acting skills. I won an award at age eleven because of that movie and sky-rocketed to stardom faster than I could breathe.

"It was for the character of Amelia, right?"

"Yes. While other producers are hesitant to work with you because of everything going on... They prefer the extra publicity since they're a small budgeted company and a big star like you will bring more eyes to them. It's completely different from Isabel's, but it's good to get out of your comfort zone," Milo advised, his excitement radiating from his voice.

"Then I'll accept it!" I did a happy dance in the hallway. "When does shooting start?"

"Two weeks. Filming will take place in France for around six to seven months if everything goes according to plan. I understand your hesitation with the distance between you and Ambrose, but it's just six months."

"Don't worry about it. I'm ready to go."

Paths intertwined, collided, and broke apart. Ambrose and my paths entangled together when we both needed each other. We both needed someone to show us what love really felt like. As I took this part, moving away for a few months, our paths were spreading further and further apart.

Who knew if Ambrose would come to win my heart? I wanted to keep my life going and become an even better person next year.

Maybe fully love myself too.

What's your expectations for the upcoming chapters? Are you glad Davina ran to her sister for comfort? It's different from her old methods! She's improved a lot right.

Love ya! ❤️❤️ Can't wait to see what you guys have to say!!!