Chapter 29: Courage

The city lights flickered like a million eyes watching me as we sat at our table in the restaurant. The hum of conversations and clinking glasses surrounded us, but I couldn’t focus. Everything felt surreal. Evan sat across from me, leaning forward, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“I can’t believe how perfect the timing is,” he said, his hand reaching across the table to take mine. “This new job—it’s everything I’ve been working for. And now we can finally start planning the wedding. We’ll get married right away, and then we can move to Los Angeles. Think about it, April, it’ll be perfect."

Perfect. The word echoed in my head, hollow and distant. I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. I could feel the tightness in my chest growing, the walls of the restaurant seeming to close in around me.

“I’ve even started looking at some places,” Evan continued, oblivious to the panic rising inside me. “A house near the beach, with a big yard… somewhere we can settle down. You could paint there