Page 90 of Broken Destiny

And now, here she was, standing only a few feet away from me.

My resentment seemed to weaken whenever I was around her, as though her presence kept chipping away at it piece by piece.

I hated that.

Taking a slow sip of my beer, I watched Jiya join the children in a game of musical chairs that Elle had organized. Her laughter carried across the yard while the children cheered each time the music stopped.

Two hours later, after the children had devoured slices of pizza, cans of cola, and far too much cake, the crowd began to thin out. Parents rounded up tired children, balloons slipped from tiny wrists, and the noisy backyard gradually grew quiet.

By 6:15 p.m., only Elle and her family remained.

28

JIYA

The house quieted down after Elle and her family left in the morning.

I missed them terribly, and so did the children.

I had told Elle and Karl everything about Caleb reappearing in my life, and although Elle thought it felt unreal, I chose not to see it as anything more than a coincidence.

History was not going to repeat itself, and I would make damn sure of that.

Needing to distract myself with work, I decided to check on the cafés and visited the restaurant.

“You seem to be doing better after that crazy weekend,” Jack said as I walked into his office. A knowing smile tugged at his lips as he poured coffee into a mug and handed it to me. “You look happier.” His eyebrows lifted slightly. “Does this new man have anything to do with it?”

I jerked my head back. “The new man?”

“You know,” he continued casually. “The one from the party.”

“No, no,” I said quickly. “There’s no new man and definitely not him.”

Seeing Caleb at the party filled me with warmth because I never thought he would actually come.

Jack sighed softly.

“Jiya, it’s okay to move on, you know. You don’t need to be a widow your whole life. You can love again. You are a young woman.”

“I know, Jack. But trust me when I say not him.”

Jack leaned back in his chair.

“Why not? You have an allergy to nice men?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Because it’s complicated.”

He snorted. “Everything with you is complicated.”

I rolled my eyes, but my grip tightened slightly around my mug.

“Jiya,” he said more gently this time, “I saw the way he looked at you.”

I stared down at the table. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“And I saw the way you looked at him when you thought nobody was paying attention.”

Heat crept into my face immediately.