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"Did you enjoy living in the city?"

She didn’t ask the question she really wanted to know:

Did he regret co and powerful and tries to devour you whole But if you work hard, take your punches, and fight back, the rewards make it worth it I found my niche Sometimes it was brutal, because this business is cutthroat and you have to be able to ht in your face and say you’ll fail You have to get past the negative junk" His voice held a bit of self-mockery "Dear old Dad helped me with that"

She smiled Christian had been hard on hi else, Tristan was able to take the bad and change it into a life lesson "He did have a ords," she said drily

He smiled back The bitterness and hatred toward his father had softened over the two years since his death In a way, Sydney wondered if Tristan was able to see him more as a man than as a father Diane had eventually left Christian for another lover, only to die in that fateful car crash The events had trapped Christian in such bitterness, he alienated his fa himself, and Tristan had finally moved past it

"I loved the cultural benefits in New York Great restaurants Theater Opera Museu people and have unique experiences"

A pang hit her She’d never traveled Sure, she’d been to the city for a few events She’d visited Boston, and Philly, and even taken a short ski trip to Vered to see beyond the borders of Harrington and used to look at it as a lack within herself Especially co need to see the world and flee his ho Becca, she’d learned er for her own drearandparents who loved her, but knowing her parents never cared about her broke so deep inside She’d always feltneedy Needy for love and security For co would work out

When she was pregnant with Becca, Sydney had needed to provide a hohter She’d known Jason for years, as he worked construction for a co her after Tristan left, he see He was kind, happily settled in town, and wanted a wife and fanancy, he didn’t run but offered a future they both seemed to want It was a ind courtship so they could beto discover that friendship and good intentions did notfoundation of home for herself and Becca They’d tried so hard to make it work, but when Becca turned six months old, Jason was offered a unique opportunity tofell apart

Besides refusing to hter to a new country, they realized there was too -distance relationship Their decision to part was painful, but there’d been no resentether Becca still retained her ex-husband’s naer a part of their lives Becca was truly, solely hers One day, she intended to explain to her daughter the details of her past, but Becca was still too young to understand One day, questions would be raised and answers demanded

After all, the truth was clearly revealed on the birth certificate

But not now Not with Tristan refusing to even interact with her daughter and not with the distance between theht her soto others, usuallyvoid inside

Now she knew only one person could fill it

Herself