The lake house glowed against the night like a beacon. Strings of golden lights draped across the deck and stretched down to the dock, their reflection glittering on the water’s surface. The forest surrounding the property was pitch-black, the kind of dark that swallowed sound. It was quiet out there, away from the music, away from the laughter that leaked through the open windows.
Elena hesitated at the foot of the deck steps. She could already hear their voices. Loud. Confident. Drunk. Her fingers gripped the strap of her small bag as if it might shield her. She didn’t know why she’d come. Maybe to prove she wasn’t broken after the breakup. Maybe to show that seeing him again wouldn’t undo her.
She was wrong.
The moment she stepped through the door, her chest tightened. The house smel
