A Second Chance at Forever novel (Eleanor and Bernard)

Sigrid Laurence was getting older, and her spinster status was giving Latonia a serious case of the jitters. Worried that Sigrid might miss the boat on motherhood, Latonia was on a mission, With Cedric's help, setting her up with different men.

But Sigrid wasn't having any of it. If she wasn't flat-out refusing, she'd politely decline during the dates themselves. After a string of such encounters, her patience wore thin, and she made a point to return to the family estate, telling Latonia to knock it off with the matchmaking.

Sigrid rarely visited home, and when she did, it was usually because her father, Quinlan Laurence, feigned illness to lure her back. Clearly, she still harbored a grudge over past grievances and wasn't about to forgive Latonia anytime soon.

Latonia, growing more regretful by the day, would shrink in Sigrid's presence, meek as a mouse, whispering, "Sigrid, you'll regret it if you end up alone and childless in your old age. Loneliness isn't a trifle, you know..."

Lounging on the couch, Sigrid scoffed, "Like parent, like child, they say. I'd rather not have kids than risk becoming a spiteful mother who can't help but tear her family apart. Better no kids than passing on that kind of legacy and cursing another generation."

seasoned socialite well-versed in reading between the lines. She knew she was at fault for past wrongs and bit her tongue, murmuring, "Sigrid, darling, I

weren't so supportive when I was with Chase McCall, were you? You schemed

Sigrid's accusation, Latonia was reminded that the errors of our ways often come back to haunt us. She never imagined the payback would come

"I heard... you might have developed feelings

if Sigrid cursed her for life and never forgave her, Latonia wished for her to find someone to lean on, to give her peace, even in

her phone tightened slightly before she denied, "He's

a beat, she locked eyes with Latonia, her gaze icy, "This life, I'm doomed to love without being loved in

leaving Latonia to sigh at the

poured down. She braved the storm to her place, a solitary figure, and cooked herself some spaghetti.

when Sigrid, captivated by his pristine aura, approached him. She bent down, mustering the courage like she once did with Chase, and confessed her feelings. But the memory was hazy