Page 79 of Rafi

My breath catches. Herfather.The word rings in my ears, bitter and alien.

“She wouldn’t do that,” I insist, my voice rising. “Not after everything. Not without telling me.”

Kanyan steps closer, his hands up in a gesture of calm, but it only stokes the fire burning in my chest. “Rafi,” he says carefully, “if she believed going back with them was the only way to protect?—”

“She wouldn’t leave me,” I cut him off, my voice hard, final.

His silence is worse than anything he could say.

I look past him to Maxine, now sitting silently in the car. She’s staring out the window, her face pale but serene. For a moment, I wonder if she’s the only one who understands what Tayana’s choice really means.

“She made her decision,” I mutter, forcing the words out even as they taste like ash on my tongue. I turn toward the car, my movements stiff, mechanical.

“Rafi,” Kanyan starts again, but I don’t let him finish.

“Drop it,” I say coldly. “She made her choice. Let’s just get Maxine home.”

The weight in my chest doesn’t lift as I slide into the driver’s seat. If anything, it grows heavier, sinking deeper into the pit of my stomach.

The engine hums to life, and the car rolls forward, but my mind stays locked on the plane that disappeared into the clouds. On Tayana.

She made her choice.

So why does it feel like she took my heart with her?

There’ssomething about bringing one person home while losing another that digs its claws into your chest and doesn’t let go. It’s a cruel kind of bittersweet. I should feel relieved. Lucky’s home, sprawled out on the couch in Scar’s living room with his legs up, where the family can keep an eye on him. His injuries will heal. Maxine is back too, though she’s a shadow of herself. But Tayana? Tayana’s gone.

Inside, the house buzzes with life, but it feels like all the noise is coming from a distance. I stand just outside the doorway, my boots scuffing against the porch as the distant echoes of reunion drift through the air.

Maxine’s wail cuts through the air, sharp and raw, and I imagine her collapsing into Mia’s arms, whispering and sobbing, a fragile heap of disbelief and relief. I should go in, but my feet won’t move. I don’t want to bear witness to Maxine’s relief as it cracks and the truth about Sophia comes crashing down on her.

I turn away, the weight in my chest pressing harder with every step I take. My head is spinning, filled with the chaos of everything that’s happened. Daniel Russo is dead. Maxine is where she belongs. Lucky will survive. But Tayana? She flew off in a plane with the man who stole Jacklyn’s revenge, and with him, she took every ounce of hope I’d dared to hold onto. I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again.

The thought seizes my throat, tightening it until I can’t breathe.

“Rafi,” Scar calls out from behind me, his voice low but insistent.

I stop at the base of the stairs, clenching my fists to steady myself. I don’t turn around. I don’t want to see what I know I’ll find in his eyes—pity, concern, questions he won’t dare to ask. I can’t handle it right now.

“You should go back inside,” I tell him, my voice rough, uneven. “Your family’s waiting for you.”

Scar doesn’t budge. I can feel his presence like a weight on my back. “You’remy family.” And Allegra will kick my ass if you miss family dinner tonight,” he says, his tone lighter, trying to coax me back.

I glance over my shoulder toward the house. Through the bay window, Kanyan stands with his hands shoved deep in his pockets, watching me like he’s waiting for me to break. His expression is unreadable, but his presence feels like a silent reminder of everything I’m trying to forget.

I shake my head and turn away again. “I’ll try to make it,” I mutter, but the words are hollow, an empty promise we both know I won’t keep.

Scar doesn’t push. He lets me go, and I feel the weight of the world closing in on me as I walk away.

My house feels suffocating even before I’ve set foot inside, filled with a loneliness I can’t face right now. Instead, I grab my motorcycle, the rumble of the engine roaring to life beneath me like a promise of escape. The wind whips against my face as I ride, the fading sun dipping low on the horizon.

I don’t have to think about where I’m going. My hands guide the bike instinctively, the road stretching out in front of me until I reach the lookout.

The spot where I once brought Tayana.

The view is breathtaking, the city sprawling below in a sea of twinkling lights. I cut the engine and step off the bike, the silence rushing in to fill the space. My boots crunch against the gravel as I walk to the edge, leaning against the railing.

It’s quiet here, too quiet, and that’s when the memories hit.

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