Madeline's POV.
The days slipped quietly after the college chaos. Every day, I came home and just lay down, tired from the dance practice.
Liam had returned to being distant, but not cold. Just... quieter.
He didn't say much, and I didn't ask. We circled each other in our shared space like two dancers who knew the steps but weren't ready to take the lead.
And just like that, it was the day of his grandparent's wedding anniversary.
Early in the morning, Sebastian drove us through the outskirts of the city, his fingers steady on the wheel the radio playing the latest pop hit.
Liam sat beside me in the backseat as usual. He didn't speak much during the drive, but his hand found mine halfway through without a word.
I was shy at the sudden contact but this time I held his hand tighter.
''We're almost there,'' Sebastian said as we turned onto a long stretch of trees. Ahead, through a black wrought-iron gate, stood the Fernandes ancestral mansion.
