Esther’s POV
The tavern was loud enough to drown out thought. Exactly what I’d wanted.
Laughter clanged like cracked glass, and somewhere behind me a piano was losing a fight with its own tuning. The air smelled of beer and wolf musk, the kind of cheap, smoky scent that clung to your hair for days. Perfect. Forgettable.
I sat in the darkest corner, nursing something I couldn’t taste, watching the amber liquid catch the lamplight. Every few seconds I swirled it, pretending it had answers. It didn’t.
Kevin’s face still haunted me, Ruth’s photograph branded in my mind. Her ghost had crawled between us, and I’d let it. Now all I could think about was how stupid I’d been to believe I was chosen when I’d only ever been a replacement.
Nicholas’s words after the broken engagement replayed, co
