The conversation with Amelia had hit Janine like a slap in the face. Amelia’s harsh words echoed in her mind, and the anger that had simmered inside her over the years boiled over. How dare she speak about Skylar like that? How could she belittle everything her daughter had been through, all the sacrifices she had made? Janine’s chest tightened as a deep sense of helplessness settled in.
Skylar had always been the kind of person who quietly suffered in silence, trying to carry the weight of her own burdens. And now, just when she seemed to be finding a way to stand up for herself, her own mother, the person who should have supported her, had turned on her too.
As the call ended, Janine felt her hands shaking. She quickly wiped away the tears that had begun to fall, frustrated at herself for letting Amelia’s words get to her. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that Skylar’s pain had never truly been understood by anyone—least of all by her.
Meanwhile, Christopher, in a frenzy of anxiety, continued to call Skylar over and over, with no answer. His mind raced. The idea that Skylar had somehow become someone’s sugar baby seemed impossible to him. She had always been so strong, so independent. She would never let herself be reduced to that.
But the cracks in their relationship were hard to ignore now. The distance between them, the unspoken things they hadn’t addressed, and now this news—he couldn’t help but wonder if Maisy’s words had a shred of truth to them. Was Skylar truly trying to escape from him because he wasn’t wealthy enough? Was she really that shallow? No, it didn’t make sense. Skylar was different. She wasn’t like the others.
He decided he needed to find out the truth, and he wasn’t going to let anyone, not even Maisy or his own insecurities, stand in the way.
Back at his apartment, he sank into the couch, trying to calm himself, but his thoughts kept swirling around Skylar. He couldn’t lose her. Not after everything they had been through together. He thought of the years they had spent building their lives, their plans for the future. Skylar had always been the one constant in his life. The thought of her slipping away, of not being able to fix things, terrified him.
Frustrated, he reached for his phone again, and this time, he didn’t just try Skylar’s number. He called Natalie, hoping she might know something. She was one of the few people who could calm him down, but once again, there was no answer.
He hung up with a sigh. Everyone was going silent on him, leaving him to figure this out alone.
Meanwhile, in a different part of town, Skylar sat in her car, the weight of everything sinking in. She was trying to ignore the knot of anxiety in her stomach, trying to shake off the lingering echoes of her father’s and Maisy’s words.
Her mind kept flashing back to Joe—his cold gaze, the way he had stepped in when things got heated. For the first time, she felt like someone was truly on her side. She didn’t need to explain herself to them, to her family, or to anyone. She was done playing their games, done with the suffocating expectations.
But as she stared out the window, she knew that her decision would have consequences. It had already started. She had distanced herself from Christopher, from everything that had been her life, and the guilt gnawed at her heart. She wasn’t sure what her future held, but at least she was free from the constant judgment, the manipulation, and the weight of everyone else’s desires for her.
Skylar let out a long breath and started her car. She wasn’t looking back. The only thing left to do now was to move forward. But even then, a part of her couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was about to change in ways she couldn’t predict.
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