Page 71 of The Consequence of Loving Me

The boy who broke my heart when he died.

The boy whose heart I broke seconds before he died.

Even though the ballroom is huge, I feel suffocated. The sound of blood pumping through my body rushes in my ears—reminding me of the waves that stole Connor from me.

I want to turn around so badly. I want to slip off these heels and run to the limo, to escape from the memories swooshing through my brain, threatening to suck me under with them.

The woman next to me is still cleaning herself up, whispering things I’m sure she means to insult me with, when Connor’s mom’s eyes find me from across the room.

I’m pinned to my spot.

I can’t fucking move.

Oh my fuck.

She’s looking at me.

She’s—why is she smiling at me?

Before I can panic and sprint out of here like my ass is on fire, she starts to walk toward me. Her navy-blue gown billows around her as she tugs on her husband’s elbow. Connor’s dad says something to the man they were talking to, his eyes traveling in the direction his wife points to.

My direction.

His face is unreadable when his eyes land on me.

I don’t even have the time to think of an excuse to high-tail it out of here before they’re standing right in front of me.

I watch in horror as Connor’s mom—Maria—reaches her slender arms toward me and pulls me in for a hug without warning. I’m still trying to process what the hell is happening when her arms wrap tightly around my shoulders.

“I’m so happy to you, sweetie,” Maria says into my hair. Her hand pets the back of my head a few times.

I can smell her. She smells like vanilla. Connor did, too. Their whole house did.

It brings back so many memories.

“I’m happy to see you, too, Maria.” The words are out of my mouth before I can even think about it. I look at Connor’s dad—Kenneth—as I add, “I’m sorry it’s taken so long.”

Kenneth nods his head at me, putting his hand on the small of Maria’s back.

Maria pulls away from our hug, her small hands finding both of my cheeks. “It took the amount of time you needed. Don’t apologize for that.” She kisses my cheek before completely pulling away from me.

The three of us stand there awkwardly. Well, I at least feel awkward. I can’t tell if they do or not.

Someone steps up to our small group just as I’m about to say something to fill the silence between us. The Liams both nod their heads at something the guest says before looking back at me when the person walks away.

“The auction is about to start,” Maria says, “but I would love to catch up with you soon, Veronica—if you’d be up to it.” A pause and then, “Would you like to come over for tea soon?”

I nod, too overcome with emotion to say anything else.

The million times I’ve envisioned seeing the Liams again, I never once imagined them being so forgiving. So nice. So true to how I remembered them before we lost Connor. I thought Maria would scream at me. I thought I’d see disappointment or resentment written all over Kenneth’s face.

But here they are, giving me hugs and asking if I’ll come over for tea.

“I would very much like that,” I finally respond, swiping at a stray tear that’s managed to escape my eye.

Maria stares at it for a moment, a look of contemplation on her face. “Great,” she says, giving me a small squeeze on the hand before she and Kenneth walk away to entertain the rest of their guests.

I’m processing everything that just happened as I walk to the table my mother and father are seated at. My mom swipes at her eyes with a napkin. It makes my heart jump inside my chest. I don’t realize until right now why she’s been so insistent that I understand the Liams aren’t full of resentment, the way I imagined them to be in my head.

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