CHAPTER 186

Lily’s POV

Dinner was not as memorable as I imagined it would be. I was dining with the people I loved for the first time in five years at the same table.

Still, there was no happy chattering, no laughing, no banter between the kids, and not even the basic smile.

I tried to focus on the plate of food set in front of me. I took a spoonful of the tangy soup into my mouth.

“Thank you, mother," Fiona said as she rose from the table after her brother.

“Hmmm," I replied with a smile but my mind was elsewhere.

Marcus.

The dinner table was quickly missing seats and in no time, I found myself alone with Shawn. His presence was both comforting and unnerving.

He had changed so much since we were younger, hardened by the experiences and losses we had both endured. Tonight, though, there was a fire in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before, he felt like a villain.

“We need to talk,” Shawn said, his voice low and strained. He must have thought about this conversation for a long time before initiating i