Leona Carpenter’s eyes flew open, and the first thing she saw was Vance Martinez’s devastatingly handsome face. Her big, expressive eyes blew wide with shock, and she blurted out before she could think better of it, "What are you doing here?" She never expected to run into him again so soon after their quick goodbye last time.

Vance wore a perfectly tailored Victorian suit, every single detail crisp and immaculate, oozing that effortless, old-money elegance only born into privilege can pull off. "Came to check on an old friend," he answered. His dark gaze locked onto Leona’s, and a fleeting, unreadable glint flickered across them before he asked softy, "How are you holding up?"

Leona looked up, caught completely off guard by those deep, impossible-to-read eyes of his, and her heart stuttered. "I’m fine," she said.

"I meant in here," Vance clarified, tapping a single finger gently against his own chest. "Most women would’ve broken down crying by now, in your shoes. You sure you don’t want to let it all out?"

He held out a handkerchief to her. Leona hesitated for a beat, then let a faint smile tug at the corner of her mouth. "Crying won’t fix anything. And I’m not wasting tears on someone not worth it."

"It hurts, though, doesn’t it?" Vance noted quietly.

Leona stared out at the trees swaying in the breeze, her gaze drifting slowly off into the distance. She murmured, "How couldn’t it…"

She’d thought her passion and honesty would earn her the same in return. But in the end, it had all been for nothing.

Vance’s dark eyes lingered on her a long moment. His voice dropped low, threaded with a faint, almost unnoticeable thread of tenderness. "No use beating yourself up over someone who doesn’t deserve you. Save your tears for the people that actually care about you."

His words sent Leona’s heart racing. She stared into those deep, unfathomable eyes of his, and suddenly her cheeks heated. Flustered, she looked away quickly.

Vance paused, a flicker of conflict crossing his features. "If you know their heart isn’t with you, why hang on? Better to cut the cord clean than let it rot into something ugly."

Leona blinked, caught off guard by how blunt he was. They weren’t even that close, after all. But she knew he wasn’t wrong. Holding on was useless, and she wasn’t the type to lie to herself just to feel better. She had zero interest in sticking around to watch Aila Ellis and Michael Hansen get back together over and over again.

She drew a deep breath to steady herself. "We already split. There’s nothing left between him and me anymore."

For a split second, Vance looked surprised, but the expression vanished faster than it came. He hid a small smile, keeping his tone even and calm. "Cutting off unreciprocated feelings is the smart move. Ms. Carpenter, you’re a lot more sharp than I expected."

"Like you said, better to let go than end up hating each other," Leona agreed. "Besides, anything you have to beg for is just charity. Only what’s given freely is real."

Vance’s eyebrows lifted a fraction, a spark of admiration glinting in his dark eyes. "On that, we definitely see eye to eye."

Their conversation flowed easy, no awkward lulls, neither of them noticing how fast the time slipped away.

"Sir, the lady of the house is asking for you," an elderly woman said as she walked up to them. She glanced at Leona, a warm, kind smile tugging at her lips. "And if you’ve got nothing else going on, miss, why don’t you come join us?"

Leona Carpenter glanced over at Vance Martinez, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

"You gonna go say hi to her?" Vance asked, his eyes warm and open as he gave Leona a soft, encouraging smile.

Leona’s gaze automatically drifted to the elderly woman waiting nearby, who looked practically bouncing off the walls to meet her. After a beat of hesitation, she nodded.

The old woman had spotted Leona and Vance walking toward her, and her grin just kept growing, impossible to hide. She waved warmly, "Honey, I’m sorry I called you over out of the blue. I hope you don’t mind."

This was the first time she’d ever seen her grandson with a girl, and she couldn’t keep the excitement off her face.

"Hi, Grandma," Leona greeted politely.

The old woman’s smile stretched even wider, nearly ear to ear. She curled her hand around Leona’s, patting it gently. "Wonderful, just wonderful. You’re such a sweet girl. The more I look at you, the more I like you."

This sudden, over-the-top familiarity left Leona a little uneasy, but she kept a polite—if awkward—smile plastered on her face.

Vance caught Leona’s discomfort right away. He adjusted his blanket a little to put himself between them, subtly putting more space between Leona and the old woman. "Sun’s bright out today, but there’s still a chill in the air. Don’t wanna catch a cold."

The old woman lifted her brows slightly, caught off guard. This thoughtful, attentive guy? Nothing like her usual cold, distant grandson.

A lifetime of living had made her sharp, and it didn’t take her long to piece together what her grandson was doing. A knowing little smile tugged at her lips.

This boy was worried he’d scare the girl off. Maybe he wasn’t as hopeless with women as she’d thought.

When she turned her attention back to Leona, her gaze was warm and soft. "Sweetheart, how long have you two known each other?"

At first, Leona was thrown off by how enthusiastic the old woman was, but when she caught that kind, fond glint in her eye, it clicked. "Grandma, there’s a little misunderstanding here. We’re just acquaintances."

Acquaintances…

The old woman flicked a quick, knowing glance at Vance out of the corner of her eye. Someone definitely didn’t see it that way.

"Honey, I just took an instant liking to you. If you’ve got the time, would you sit and chat with me for a bit?" She looked up at Leona, then quickly dropped her gaze, playing the part of a lonely old widow perfectly. "That good-for-nothing boy’s always so busy. I barely ever see him. Poor me, just a widow with no one to talk to."

"I…" Leona knew the old woman had the wrong idea, and her first instinct was to say no.

But looking at that silver-haired woman reminded her of her own grandpa, and her heart softened. After a second of thinking it over, she nodded. "Alright."

The old woman’s fake loneliness melted away instantly, replaced by a bright, giddy cheer as she looked at Leona. "Then I’ll be waiting! Vance will drive you over."

"This…" Leona felt a little flustered and turned to look at Vance. "That seems like such a hassle, though."

"It’s no trouble at all!" The old woman snuck a quick look at Vance, pride glowing in her eyes.

A little while later, after they’d finished talking, Leona got a call from Kendra Gray and had to head out.

Vance watched her slim figure fade down the path, his sharp, focused gaze burning into her back like a hunter locked on his prey.

"Vance," the old woman spoke up suddenly, her voice sharp with a edge of cold that made it clear she was not pleased.

Vance Martinez glanced over at his grandmother, and caught that playful, knowing glint in her eye. He smiled warm and said, "Grandma, I’ll never forget how good you’ve been to me today."

"Oh, cut the sweet talk!" She shot him a playful glare, her eyebrows lifting with quiet pride. "I didn’t do this for you. I just wanna meet my great-grandkids already, sooner rather than later."

Vance dropped his gaze, hiding the hard edge of seriousness in his eyes. "So it’s settled then. Leona’s gonna be your granddaughter-in-law, and no matter what happens, there’s no taking it back."

"The one thing I’ve never doubted my whole life is my own gut," the old lady stated firmly, full of confidence. "Now you gotta figure out how to win her over for good. That girl doesn’t look like she’s got even a little crush on you, far as I can tell."

That hit the nail right on the head—this was exactly Vance’s problem. Women swarmed him like bees to honey, drawn to every bit of his charm, but Leona Carpenter? She couldn’t have cared less. It left him fumbling in uncharted territory, eaten up with self-doubt he’d never felt before.

"Grandma, you got any advice for me?" Vance asked, looking at her with hopeful eyes.

"If you wanna chase her, you gotta show her you’re dead sincere," his grandmother said seriously. "Be humble, be upfront, be thoughtful. And most important of all? Stay real. If you ever hurt her even a little, I’ll give you hell before anyone else gets the chance."

Vance couldn’t help but laugh. "I haven’t even brought her home yet, and you’re already taking her side?"

"The more I see of that girl, the more I like her." Her fondness for Leona shone clear as day when she thought of Leona’s soft, kind manner. Glancing over at Vance, who already looked antsy to leave, she asked quickly, "Where you running off to?"

Vance’s lips tugged up into a sly smile. "To be a little more proactive, duh."

When Leona headed for her hospital room, she ran straight into Michael Hansen’s sister, Remy, totally out of the blue.

It looked like Remy had been waiting for her—she planted herself right in Leona’s path, blocking her from getting back to the room.

Remy dragged her gaze up and down Leona, disdain practically rolling off her, a sneer tugging at her mouth. "Leona, I overestimated you. I thought you’d finally face reality and scram. But here you are, hanging around like a bad shadow. You really think a few pity parties are gonna make my brother take you back? Lose that stupid fantasy! My brother doesn’t want some doormat like you!"

"Say that again." Leona’s face went ice-cold, a sharp, dangerous glint flashing in her eyes.

Remy, who’d only ever seen Leona roll over and take it, flinched back without meaning to. But she recovered quick, snapping, "What? Did I lie? You break up with my brother one minute, then go run off to hook up with the first guy who looks your way. It’s pathetic!"

Leona said nothing. That just made Remy bolder, and she kept going, "Don’t act like I don’t know why you disappeared all that time ago. My brother told me everything!"

Leona’s face drained of all color at those words, leaving nothing but a tight mask of agony. Her eyes shook, raw and unsteady.

Her hands clenched tight at her sides, nails digging hard into her palms—she didn’t even feel the sting. Her whole frail frame shook uncontrollably, like she was caught in a silent storm no one else could see.

That night was the most humiliating of her entire life. A scar that would never fade, not completely. Only she and Michael knew what happened. He’d sworn no one else would ever find out…

But now he’d given her secret to Remy. When did promises turn into nothing but garbage?

It felt like a dull knife had just carved straight through her chest, wave after wave of blinding pain making her head spin. Even breathing hurt, like pulling glass into her lungs.

Seeing how pale Leona had gone, Remy knew she’d won, and her confidence came roaring back. "Let me tell you one more thing, Leona. If you hadn’t latched onto my brother right after he broke up with Aila? He never would’ve looked twice at you. You really need to go look in a mirror and see what you actually are…"