When Her "Death" Couldn't Break Him (Cecilia and Nathaniel)

Outside the ward's sterile glow, he pulled out his phone. After a long, reluctant pause, he called Cecilia.

While the ringtone droned, he stared at the blizzard curling beyond the glass, stomach knotting with dread.

He knew he could never repay the mountain of debt. Cecilia was the one future he could still afford.

The thought tasted of shame, yet no other name lived in his thoughts.

Across town, Cecilia glanced at the unfamiliar number. The strange prefix told her it was Magnus.

Her private line was airtight. Unknown callers simply didn't exist unless they were family.

Besides Magnus, she knew no one in that dusty county code.

She pressed mute and let the phone pulse in silence.

The ringtone died again. Magnus redialed, brows knitting. "Why isn't she picking up? Did she change numbers?" he muttered.

He blew out a white breath. "Looks like I'll have to risk a trip back to Tudela."

The New Year was only days away. Magnus convinced himself that holiday sentiment would loosen Cecilia's purse strings and drag him out of this mess.

Back inside the ward, he shut the door.

up, worry creasing her brow. "So, this plan of yours, what is it? You're not about

Magnus said, shaking his

are you getting that kind of cash?"

stopped digging until every shard of

my sister. She's loaded. What I

color drained from Denise's face. She stared

seeped into the

felt

lowered his voice. "Denise, what's wrong? Think I'll head back to Tudela, get rich,

ice. "I thought you'd changed. Clearly, you haven't. Why keep acting like a

Had anyone else said it, he would have fired back, maybe even swung

in front of him. She was

skin. His cheeks blazed, the shame so fierce it felt as if someone

nothing but a jagged whisper and a heartbeat

shares

values

never wavered, each

on self-reliance, refusing to offload burden or blame on anyone

his stomach, cold and sudden, as though the ground had tilted beneath