The Confidence of Wildflowers (Wildflower Duet, #1)

by Micalea Smeltzer

“Love is like wildflowers; It’s often found in the most unlikely places.”

“Wildflowers are strong. Resilient. They can grow under most conditions. I want to be like that.” I let my hair down, his eyes watching my movements. “I want to have the confidence of wildflowers—to never give up, to flourish, and thrive.”

“You know, it always amazes me that that’s the first question people ask.” I inhale a breath. “As if the blame lies on my mom and not on the man responsible. The man who beat his wife, snuck into his daughters’ rooms at night,” I rant, feeling my blood pressure rise. “It’s never, ‘Wow, what an awful human being he was. Your poor mom must have been terrified.’” I let him absorb this before I continue. “The blame always gets put on the victim or victims. Why is that?” I can tell I’ve stumped him. “It’s because,” I gather everything I have inside me so I can say this last bit, “society never wants to accept that monsters are real—just weak women.”

“You’re not a liar. And a cheater … that’s just a label, sure, but it’s not who you are. I know you. You wouldn’t do this on purpose. Be kind to yourself. We’re young, Salem. We’re going to make mistakes and do things we regret. But it doesn’t mean we’re horrible people.” She stares into my eyes with so much sympathy that I feel tears spring to my eyes. “We’re just human. Anyone who thinks they’re perfect is delusional. We all make mistakes, do things we regret, just because those things don’t all look the same doesn’t make someone better over another.”

For the first time in weeks, his face shows some sort of emotion other than confusion. He knows. I’m closing the door on us. Ending the chapter. We’re a period on the end of a sentence. Full stop. I thought our love story was written in the stars; destined, remarkable, once in a lifetime. Turns out we’re nothing but a memory gone up in flames, ashes scattered in the wind.