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Why?

Author: Sophie Lane
last update publish date: 2026-06-25 04:43:51

For a second, nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The name just hung there in the middle of the foyer like smoke.

Dugan.

Uncle Carmen’s right-hand man.

Not some random drunk.

Not a burglar looking for jewelry.

Not a kid trying door handles in the neighborhood.

Dugan.

I stared at Paul, waiting for him to laugh and say he was kidding.

He didn’t.

My mouth went dry.

“What do you mean it’s Dugan?” I asked, even though I had heard him perfectly the first time.

Paul’s jaw tightened.

“I mean it’s Dugan.”

“No,”
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  • Decisions I made    Dad

    Mom hit the kitchen first.She came around the corner in leggings and a cashmere wrap thrown over whatever she’d worn on the plane, hair half-fallen from its clip, face pale and exhausted and already wet with tears.The second she saw me, she made a sound I never wanted to hear again.Not a scream.Not even a cry.Just that sharp, broken inhale mothers make when they’ve spent an entire flight imagining the worst.“Lela.”I barely got out of the chair before she was across the kitchen, arms around me so tightly I almost lost my balance. She smelled like perfume and airplane air and the peppermint gum she always chewed when she was nervous.“I’m okay,” I said immediately, because of course that was the first thing out of my mouth.Mom pulled back just enough to cup my face in both hands and look me over like she was checking for damage.“Don’t tell me you’r

  • Decisions I made    The Truth

    I stared at Paul across the kitchen island and immediately knew there was no good answer to that question.Because the truth?The truth made me look stupid.Weak.Embarrassing.Like one of those women everyone swears they’d never be—the ones who keep too much to themselves, make excuses for too long, and wait until things are bad before admitting just how bad they’ve gotten.I looked down at the table instead of at him.“I don’t know.”Paul gave a short, humorless laugh.“You don’t know?”“No.”“Lela.”I sighed and rubbed both hands over my face.“I don’t know what you want me to say.”“The truth would be a good place to start.”Jack stayed quiet beside me, but I could feel him listening. Not in a nosy way. Just there. Present. Waiting to understand the pieces I hadn’t given him yet.I folded my arms over my chest and leaned back in the chair.“It didn’t happen all

  • Decisions I made    Long Night

    Paul didn’t wait for anyone to answer him.The second he stepped away from the table with his phone to his ear, the entire kitchen seemed to change.The room got colder.Quieter.Like the text message had sucked all the air out of it.I stayed frozen in my chair, staring at nothing while Jack stood beside me with my phone still in his hand.**I know you’re home. We need to talk.**I could still see the words in my head.Over and over.I know you’re home.Not *Can we talk?*Not *Please call me.*Not *I miss you.*Just that.A statement.A warning.A way of letting me know he was still there, still pushing, still trying to get inside my life no matter how many times I shut the door.My hands were shaking again.Not as badly as before.Worse.Because the adrenaline from the break-in had nowhere to go now. It had settled into somet

  • Decisions I made    The Text

    For a second, nobody said anything.The silence was so complete I could hear the kitchen clock ticking over the refrigerator.Jack stayed perfectly still beside me.Not stiff.Not panicked.Just very, very still.I looked at Paul.“What do you mean he was asking about Jack?”Paul leaned back in the chair, exhaustion and irritation written all over his face.“I mean exactly what I said. Chris has been asking around about the guy you’ve been seeing.”My stomach dropped.“How does he even know I’m seeing someone?”Paul gave me a flat look.“Lela.”I stared back at him.“No. Seriously. How?”He folded his arms across his chest.“You think you’ve been hiding this?”I blinked.“Yes?”Jack actually laughed under his breath.I turned to glare at

  • Decisions I made    Tears

    I cried harder than I meant to.Not dramatic sobbing.Not the kind where you collapse onto the floor and can’t breathe.Just that awful, quiet kind of crying where the tears won’t stop and your chest hurts and you’re trying so hard to pull yourself together that it almost makes it worse.Jack didn’t say much.Thank God.He just held me.One arm around my shoulders, the other resting at the back of my head, keeping me tucked against his chest while I stood there in the middle of my parents’ kitchen crying in an oversized t-shirt and pajama shorts at three in the morning.Belle stayed pressed against my legs like she was personally offended that I was upset.After a minute, Jack guided me toward one of the kitchen chairs and sat me down.Then he disappeared for all of thirty seconds and came back with a wet paper towel and the box of tissues from the powder room.I laughed through my tears the second I saw the paper towel.He looked at me carefully.“What?”“That is the most dad thing I

  • Decisions I made    Why?

    For a second, nobody moved.Nobody spoke.The name just hung there in the middle of the foyer like smoke.Dugan.Uncle Carmen’s right-hand man.Not some random drunk.Not a burglar looking for jewelry.Not a kid trying door handles in the neighborhood.Dugan.I stared at Paul, waiting for him to laugh and say he was kidding.He didn’t.My mouth went dry.“What do you mean it’s Dugan?” I asked, even though I had heard him perfectly the first time.Paul’s jaw tightened.“I mean it’s Dugan.”“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Why would Dugan be here?”“That,” Paul said flatly, “is exactly what I’d like to know.”Belle was still pacing in circles around my legs, whining now instead of barking, like even she could feel the tension in the room. I bent down automatically and ran my hand over her head just to give myself something to do besides panic.Jack’s hand stayed at the small of my back.Quiet.Steady.Grounding.I looked up at my brother again.“Did he say anything?”Paul laughed once, b

  • Decisions I made    Questions

    "Where is Jack taking you for dinner?" Mom asked as we walked toward the mall entrance.I smiled."Pier W."Mom stopped so fast I nearly walked right into her."What?"I laughed."Pier W."She just stood there staring at me."The Pier W?""Yes, Mom."For a moment she didn't say anything.Then she g

  • Decisions I made    Shopping

    Friday morning arrived much earlier than I would have liked.My alarm went off at six, and for a few seconds I just lay there staring at the ceiling.The events of the night before slowly came back to me.Dinner with Mom and Dad.The interrogation.The shopping trip I had somehow been volunteered f

  • Decisions I made    Dinner with my parents

    "Okay," Dad said as he leaned back in his chair. "Let's talk about this Jack guy."I groaned."Do we have to?""Absolutely."Mom laughed."We definitely have to."I shook my head."There's really not much to tell."Dad pointed at me."Start with what you know."I thought about it for a moment."Wel

  • Decisions I made    Thursday Night

    Thursday nights were usually predictable. Chris would have another dinner meeting with clients, another networking event, or another reason he couldn't be home. Over the years, I had stopped asking questions. Sometimes the meetings were legitimate, sometimes they weren't, and sometimes I simply did

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