Chapter 232
My mother exchanged a glance with my father, one of those silent conversations they'd perfected over thirty years of marriage.
My father nodded slowly. "Your mother told me about last night. About Lilith. About Lev."
I tensed. "I handled it."
"I know you did." He leaned back in his chair, studying me. "That's not what I'm worried about."
I waited.
He took a sip of his tea, then set the cup down carefully. "You've been carrying a lot, Alayna. For a long time. Not to mention the hospital. This wedding. And now your sister's pain, on top of everything else."
I opened my mouth to argue, but he held up a hand.
"I'm not saying you can't handle it. You can. You've proven that. But I am saying that you don't have to carry it alone." He looked at me, and in his eyes I saw something I'd rarely seen. The vulnerability. "Your mother and I... we've been watching. Waiting. Not wanting to interfere. But maybe that was wrong."
