Chapter 79

Marie replied, “Not yet. But seriously, Ms. Estrella’s business trip is stretching out longer than a Thanksgiving turkey’s legs. She said she’d be back in two or three days tops, and here we are at day five.”

Listening to Marie’s words, Jason fished his phone out of his pocket and headed upstairs. He went into the bedroom, and the call to Drew connected just in time. “Drew, can you look into what’s up with Estrella?” Jason instructed.

“Right away, Sir,” came Drew’s response on the other end.

With his order acknowledged, Jason ended the call and casually tossed his phone onto the nightstand.

He had indeed gone to Silverbrook to confront Estrella. Seeing Korey had soured his mood even further, but Estrella’s barbed words, devoid of explanation, had left him feeling even more out of sorts. So when Serene had called crying, he glanced at the bathroom, grabbed his car keys, and left without a second thought.

Jason was too used to Estrella’s sunny disposition to accept her indifference. Opening wardrobe to grab some clean clothes, he was frozen in place by the sight of Estrella’s colorful pajamas.

“Let’s have a kid, Jason!”

“Which do you prefer, this one or that one?”

“You like the black set? Your wish is my command.”

“If Korey comes back, why am I still wasting my time with you?”

the

“I’d rather marry anyone but you, Jason. Get this marriage over with and stop holding me back from happiness.”

Memories of Estrella’s kindness, her laughter, and her coldness swirled in Jason’s head, darkening his expression as he shut the wardrobe with a definitive click.

After he finished his shower, the bedroom was still empty, and he felt something was missing in his heart.

quiet that only the sound of his

years

thousand days

in this

pictures. Nothing about the room screamed “married for two years.” Jason lit

11:37

always belonged to

SanOasis.

the cigarette burned down to the end, the sting jolted him back to reality. He stubbed

herself by the floor-to-ceiling windows, tallying the cars that passed by. The first one wasn’t his. The second one wasn’t either. Eventually, she stopped waiting, deciding instead to focus on doing her

he had restless dreams of days gone by, of a time before “that incident,” back when they were both students. Estrella, ever the free spirit, would laugh and play, outrunning the boys and climbing

had regretfully delivered, and Jason woke up with a start, gathering himself to return to

night with Jesse and Bryce, crashing on the living room couch till dawn, with no dreams or

office, as Jason stepped in, Drew

at Drew, who continued, “I’ve got an update on Ms. Estrella. She returned

dropped when he

However, Bryce went to see

it seems she didn’t mention her illness to him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have left

when he heard that Estrella hadn’t told

slightly.

before speaking, “Sir, there are a couple of things I’m not sure I

Estrella doesn’t have any feelings for Korey, and she’s been quite clear about her boundaries with him. Ms. Estrella

Drew in silence. Drew, sensing the mood, added more softly, “Maybe I’ve overstepped, Sir.”

2/3

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felt he had a clear view from the sidelines. It was hard to tell if Estrella truly liked Jason, but she was not the kind of person who would sneak around. She had been

what Jason truly wanted. It certainly wasn’t

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