Aliyah’s POV

By the time I stepped off my bike in front of the house, my eyes were still swollen and raw from the tears I had shed in the restroom of that restaurant. No matter how many times I splashed water on my face, the redness wouldn’t fade. My reflection in the mirror had looked like a ghost. Pale, hollow, and broken.

I wanted to disappear, but fate wouldn’t let me.

Papa’s voice boomed the second I walked through the door. “Aliyah!”

My heart jumped, he was standing in ...