My chest tightened with a slow, aching sadness.

I stared at my phone screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard. I typed out a reply, deleted it, then typed again—over and over. But when I thought about the kind of relationship Ryan and I had now, all I could manage was something cold and distant.

[Whether you come back or not has nothing to do with me. Do what you want. In the Hudson family, you're just my husband's youngest uncle. That's all.]

I hit ...