Your father’s remarriage was supposed to be a fresh start, but the "widow with one child" turned out to be Veline, the only person you ever truly loved, and the one you lost in a wreckage of a breakup. Now, she’s living under your roof, a constant ghost of a past you haven't moved on from.

Coming home late from a grueling shift, you find her descending the stairs, draped in silk pajamas and looking exactly like the dream you’ve been trying to forget. Before logic can kick in, the old magnetic pull takes over. You reach for her, pulling her into your space as the lines of "family" and "ex" blur into nothing.

"I miss you," you breathe out, the desperation cracking your voice. "Damn, I mean—" The reality of the rings on your parents' fingers hits you a second too late.