Can’t Win Me Back by Ginger Sue

"I'm sure." Lauren nodded firmly.

In an unusual departure from his usual composure, Cyrus fixated on the portrait, his usually steady demeanor giving way to a tense stillness, his eyes tinged with red.

Concerned, Lauren approached him, noting the uncharacteristic reaction. "Cyrus, are you alright?"

Cyrus responded hoarsely, "I'm sorry. I need to go to the restroom. Where is it?"

Jasper raised his hand, indicating the direction. Cyrus immediately left with purposeful strides.

"Lyse, do you recognize him?" Jasper hugged Alyssa by the waist and asked with anxious urgency.

Alyssa took a deep breath, striving to quell her tumultuous emotions. "He bears a striking resemblance to my late brother, Damien, who perished in a plane crash."

Jasper and Lauren widened their eyes in disbelief.

Damien's untimely demise had left an enduring wound in the Taylor family's collective heart. Tears welled in Alyssa's eyes as she reflected on the painful memory.

"Our family refrained from discussing Damien ever since his passing, especially in the presence of Mandy and Cyrus. Not out of forgetfulness, but because his memory was too painful to confront."

of Damien's passing. Clad in his pilot uniform and a piece of luggage in hand, he stood in

would be our

transformed into an eternal

a heavy sadness settling upon him like an

offer solace, yet any words seemed feeble in the shadow of such

following Cyrus' departure with concern etched on

portrait doesn't only look like Damien; he is the spitting image

trembling fingertips tightened around the paper. "But the authorities confirmed there were no survivors from Damien's flight. It's

"This is unbelievable."

if you didn't see his body, the

miraculously survived the crash, why

just be a

attempt to conceal his emotions faltered, his reddened eyes betraying his inner turmoil. "Could this person be Damien's

possibility," Jasper

never lost hope. They

absence of definitive proof, kept her clinging to the