Chapter 29

After that chat with Navian, I made an effort to maintain my distance, although it was not as easy as it seemed. Our lives had grown so entwined that I was reminded of it every time I saw him or heard his voice.

But I knew I had to follow through on the plan: to give him and Elena some room, to resolve their differences without me interfering.

After a few days of little to no communication, I was beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe, things would get better. However, the stress seemed to increase rather than decrease. And then there was the night when everything boiled over.

The day had been boring until something happened. I had spent most of the afternoon attempting to concentrate on my work but couldn’t stop thinking about Owen.

He was my life, and I wanted everything to be perfect for him. At five, it occurred to me that I leave the office so early and pick him up from school by myself instead. I longed for him; nothing felt better than seeing his smile when he saw me.

I pa