The win was bitter. Nicole had proven me right in every way. No doubt she thought the drug would coax out long hidden desires. But he’d come to me. I’d held Briar, our hands wrapped around each other. He’d needed me on a cellular level, and if I was honest, I needed him just the same. I thought of the tormented pain in the journal, the raw honesty and regret he’d marked in ink. My pride was in tatters again. The bubble encasing our table was mournful. They all knew the admission was not something I would smile and forgive.
