Page 106 of Your Second Chance
“You’re not a bad person,” I said firmly.
In truth, I had never really seen Will with Luna. He was a great guy, older than her, had a stable job—everything seemed right on paper. But the way he spoke about her... it was like he couldn’t fully appreciate her. He never said anything outright mean, but I noticed he never bragged about her accomplishments.
She shifted in my arms, pulling away slightly. She sat cross-legged and turned to face me, her expression serious. “I’m going to tell you something, and you cannot freak out.”
I grimaced. “I can’t promise I won’t freak out, but I’ll do my best to keep a straight face.”
“Two months ago, I was feeling really homesick.”
I blinked. “Like homesick, homesick?”
She took a deep breath. “Yeah. For everything. American snacks, pancakes, Trader Joe’s frozen meals. My yoga girls. Everything felt... off. I didn’t tell you because you were finally settling in. You had Ollie. You had Scar. Youhavethe life we dreamed about, and I didn’t want to ruin that with my spiral.”
“Lune—”
“I know.” She cut in gently. “But then Dirks called.”
My heart stuttered. “Dirks, Dirks?”
“Yeah. And I just—when I heard his voice, something cracked open. He told me he missed me. That this was going to be his last season. And I... I didn’t realize how much I missed him, too. How much I missedmyselfwhen I was with him.”
Her voice faltered. “I didn’t cheat. I didn’t even tell him how I felt. But after that call, I just... couldn’t keep pretending with Will. He was safe. He was kind. But I’ve been quietly unraveling for months, Nova. And I can’t stay in something that makes me feel smaller just because it’s comfortable.”
I didn’t even realize I was crying until the tears hit my chest. “You’re leaving?”
She nodded, her chin wobbling. “I have to. For me. For the parts of me that I shut down to come here and be what everyone needed. You’re okay now. You have Ollie, and you’re not in survival mode anymore. And Scarlette—she’s going to have you both. And she’s going to haveme. Just... from a distance.”
“You’ll miss her growing up.”
“I’ll visit. You’ll visit. I’ll still be her Daddy Luna. That doesn’t change. Nothing’s going to change that.” She reached out, brushing my tears with her thumb. “But I need to stop feeling like a shadow of myself. I need to go figure out what’s next. Fixwhat I can and see if there’s still something real with Dirks.” She smiled through the tears. “We’re still sisters. You’ll always be my person. But right now... I need to be mine.”
The silence stretched, my mind spinning with the thought of mornings without her, quiet rooms without her laughter, and Scarlette’s hair undone.
“I’m going to be so mad at you when I don’t know how to do a fishtail braid.”
She laughed softly, crying again. “I’ll send you a tutorial.”
I looked at her as tears blurred my vision. Luna had given up everything to come here. She left behind her life, her routine, her people, all to make sureIsurvived. To help me find my footing again when I was barely holding it together. She’d been my anchor, my home, my soft place to land when the world felt unbearable.
My relationship with Luna wasn’t something that could ever be replaced. Not even Ollie, with all his steady love, could touch what she meant to me. She had raised Scarlette with me, cried with me, held my hand through heartbreak and healing. ShewasScarlette’s dad. She was my twin flame, my better half, the one person who had seen every shattered piece of me and never once flinched.
How could I even begin to imagine a life without her?
The thought made my world tilt, the edges of it warping like glass under pressure. What if the loneliness crept back in and swallowed me whole?
But deeper than the panic, beneath the ache, was something else: love. The kind Luna had shown me over and over. She’d put her life on pause to help me build mine. It was my turn to do the same for her.
There was a long pause between us, thick with everything we couldn’t say out loud.
And then, before I could stop myself, the words spilled out. “I-I’ll come with you.”
Luna’s head snapped up, her tear-streaked face a mixture of shock and disbelief. She shook her head, her curls bouncing slightly. “You can’t.”
“I can,” I insisted, my voice firm despite the panic bubbling underneath. “You moved here for me when I needed you most, without me asking. I’m going to do the same for you. Aunt Mae would probably love to be closer to Scarlette.”
Luna stared at me, her brows furrowed as she processed what I was saying. “What about your work?”
I paused, the realization hitting me. I hadn’t thought about that. “I’ll call Iris. See if she knows of anything. She did mention wanting to retire soon, and maybe she has an idea if there’s a position with the Ravens or another team.” My voice sped up as I thought out loud. “And you’re my client now, too. We could figure something out between us. Make it work.”
