AVA’S POV

The moment I stepped into the living room after hearing Nicholas’ family gossip about him, my chest felt tightened because every word they whispered behind his back, every sneer, every subtle glance that said he wasn’t enough, stabbed me like a thousand knives.

I clenched my hands into a fist at my sides. I had always been too soft and people's opinions weighed on me. Their judgments dictated my worth and it is ending now because I am no longer allowing it.

I can’t take it ...