I was taken aback by her words.

It kept on playing in my mind the way she had said it.

"You knew?" My voice came out as barely a whisper, disbelief and betrayal warring in my chest. “You knew I was dating Ryder?”

She nodded.

I clenched my fist, sitting upright, "You knew, and you said nothing?"

Mom's face crumpled, tears finally spilling over the carefully applied makeup that could no longer hide the exhaustion in her eyes. "I didn't want it to be true," she whispered, her voice ...