<<<Finding Forever After…
(Finding Forever After the Betrayal) Chapter 12
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Hannah’s calls, a frantic symphony of need and desperation, went
unanswered. Ethan’s phone lay on his nightstand, the screen dark, the silence
amplifying the hollowness echoing in his chest.
The lake house, usually their sanctuary, their escape from the demands of
their lives, felt as cold and empty as the old house, a stark reminder that home
wasn’t a place, but a person.
As midnight approached, the silence becoming unbearable, they gave up the
charade and drove back to the lake house, their shoulders heavy with exhaustion
and a grief that was only just beginning to unfurl its thorny tendrils around their
hearts.
Hannah was curled up on the sofa, fast asleep, a picture of innocent slumber
that did nothing to ease the tightness in Aiden’s chest. The soft glow of the living
room lamps cast long shadows across the room, a subtle reminder of the
darkness that had crept into their lives.
“Why aren’t you in bed?” Ethan’s voice, thick with exhaustion and a touch of
annoyance he didn’t bother to hide, sliced through the silence.
Aiden didn’t even bother with pleasantries.“It’s late, Hannah. You should be
asleep.” He headed straight for his room, his words following him like a dismissal.“
Don’t wait up for us next time.”
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Hannah sat up, her brow furrowed, her carefully constructed composure
cracking under the weight of their indifference. What was going on? They’d
been so attentive, so concerned, just a few hours ago. Had Violet’s absence really
changed everything?
She paced the hallway between Aiden’s and Ethan’s rooms, her anxiety
growing with each unanswered knock, each unanswered text. The silence was
deafening, a stark contrast to the warmth, the easy laughter, she’d so carefully
cultivated over the past
few weeks.
Panic swelled in her chest, a cold knot of fear that tasted like bile in her
throat. She had to do something, anything, to regain their attention, to remind
them of the bond they shared.
Back in her room, her fingers trembled as she scrolled through her messages,
deleting every trace of the smug texts she’d sent Violet, the words that now
seemed like a reckless confession of guilt. Violet might be gone, but she hadn’t
driven her away. No, that was all Violet’s doing.
gone,
Aiden lay in bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling, his mind racing. Violet was
back to Seattle, back to a life he knew nothing about. He didn’t even know
her address, her family’s phone number. Not that it mattered. She hadn’t wanted
them to know, hadn’t wanted them to follow.
The realization, sharp and agonizing, twisted in his gut. Had she planned
this all along, carefully erasing herself from their lives while they’d been too
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blind, too caught up in their own guilt and Hannah’s carefully orchestrated
vulnerability, to see what was happening right in front of them?
Ethan, unable to bear the suffocating silence of his own thoughts, paced the
length of his room, his phone a lifeline he couldn’t quite bring himself to use.
Finally, unable to take it any longer, he dialed Sarah’s number.
“Ethan? Is that you?” Sarah’s voice, weary but warm, was a balm to his frayed
nerves. “What’s wrong? It’s late.”
“Sarah, it’s Violet,” Ethan blurted out, his words tumbling over each other in
his haste.“Where is she? Why did she leave like that? We have to find her!”
There was a beat of silence, then Sarah’s voice, hesitant, confused. “Ethan, don’t you… didn’t Violet tell you? I thought… she said you both knew.”
Knew? Knew what? That she was leaving? But…
A cold realization washed over them. Violet had lied.
“Ethan, dear,” Sarah continued, her voice softening, a hint of something
guarded creeping into her tone. “It’s late. I’m sure everything is fine. Violet just… well, she misses her parents. It’s been a long time. She’ll call you when she gets
settled, I’m sure.”
Ethan clung to Sarah’s words, even as his gut screamed at him that something wasn’t right. “Of course,” he said, his voice hollow. “Missing her
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blind, too caught up in their own guilt and Hannah’s carefully orchestrated vulnerability, to see what was happening right in front of them?
Ethan, unable to bear the suffocating silence of his own thoughts, paced the length of his room, his phone a lifeline he couldn’t quite bring himself to use.
Finally, unable to take it any longer, he dialed Sarah’s number.
“Ethan? Is that you?” Sarah’s voice, weary but warm, was a balm to his frayed
nerves.“What’s wrong? It’s late.”
“Sarah, it’s Violet,” Ethan blurted out, his words tumbling over each other in
his haste.“Where is she? Why did she leave like that? We have to find her!”
There was a beat of silence, then Sarah’s voice, hesitant, confused. “Ethan,
don’t you… didn’t Violet tell you? I thought… she said you both knew.”
Knew? Knew what? That she was leaving? But…
A cold realization washed over them. Violet had lied.
“Ethan, dear,” Sarah continued, her voice softening, a hint of something
guarded creeping into her tone. “It’s late. I’m sure everything is fine. Violet just…
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well, she misses her parents. It’s been a long time. She’ll call you when she gets
settled, I’m sure.”
Ethan clung to Sarah’s words, even as his gut screamed at him that something wasn’t right.“Of course,” he said, his voice hollow. “Missing her
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parents… It’s just… it’s not like her to not say goodbye.”
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He hung up before Sarah could respond, his heart pounding a staccato
rhythm against his ribs. It was a lie. A flimsy, pathetic lie. And they both knew it.
He had to find her. He had to make things right.
He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, his mind racing with possible explanations, each one more terrifying than the last. As he stepped out into the cool night air, headlights cut through the darkness, momentarily blinding him. He shielded his eyes with his hand, his heart sinking as he recognized Aiden’s car parked haphazardly in the driveway, a trail of cigarette smoke curling from the
open window.
Aiden was already out of the car, leaning against the hood, his shoulders slumped, his face illuminated by the eerie glow of his phone. A dozen half–smoked cigarettes littered the pavement at his feet, a testament to his
anxiety.
They hadn’t even needed to speak the words to understand. They were both thinking the same thing: They’d lost her.
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“Finding Forever After the Betrayal Chapter
