Chapter 14 #2
Maybe it hadn’t been her letter. Maybe someone else had pink stationery. Maybe—
Her thoughts spun wild, desperate.
She needed a plan. She needed answers.
She needed Mila.
Hands fumbling, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text.
“Answer it,” she whispered.
Because, this?
This was bigger than anything she had ever imagined.
Mila agreed to meet Landry after work at a small café on the River Walk. As Landry pulled into a parking space, her phone buzzed on the dashboard.
She glanced at the display. Mom.
She exhaled slowly, pressing her lips together before answering.
“Hello, Mom. Everything okay?”
Before the breakup with Chad, she and her mother had spoken nearly every single day. Nothing serious. Just brief, familiar check-ins—a good morning, have a great day kind of thing.
But ever since she’d ended things with Chad, her mother had been calling nonstop, and every call had turned into a debate.
Landry already knew what was coming. The only question was, which argument would her mother try this time?
Donna had started with the you might not find someone better tactic. Her mom had listed Chad’s wonderful qualities—he was kind, stable, responsible, he clearly adored her. Then she’d asked, Are you sure you won’t regret letting him go?
Then she’d taken a different angle: He fit in so well with the family. She’d reminded Landry how rare it was to find someone who meshed seamlessly into their world.
Now, as her mother’s voice filtered through the phone, gentle, almost hesitant, Landry braced herself.
“Everything is fine, sweetheart.” Donna’s voice dripped with concern. “How are you doing?”
A loaded question.
Landry forced a brightness into her tone that she didn’t quite feel. “I’m great. Just heading over to meet Mila for margaritas at Mama Rosa’s.”
The restaurant on the River Walk had an abundance of outdoor seating, and Mila had vowed to go to battle for an outside table.
“Have you heard from Chad?” her mother asked after a long pause.
Landry stiffened. This was new. Her mother had never asked directly about him before.
“No,” she said, keeping her voice even. “And I don’t expect to.”
Another pause.
“I’m sure he’s missing you as much as you’re missing him.” Her mother’s voice softened, as if she were easing into dangerous waters. “Relationships aren’t always easy, honey. Did you really try to work through things? Sometimes it takes compromise to make things work with a great person.”
Compromise.
Landry bit back a bitter laugh. Should she remind her mother that compromise worked only if both people were willing to meet in the middle?
She knew if she brought up her dreams—her need to write, her longing to travel, the restlessness inside her—her mother would dismiss them as impractical, unrealistic, unimportant.
So Landry stuck to her simplest truth.
“I don’t love him.” The words came out firm, final. “Do you want me to marry someone I don’t love?”
Silence.
In that silence, Landry knew she had been right not to bring up her dreams. Because her mother didn’t value them any more than Chad had.
The truth lodged like a splinter in her heart.
Landry forced herself to exhale, to push past the disappointment tightening her chest. She needed to end this conversation.
“I’m at the restaurant. How about I give you a call tomorrow?”
Her mother hesitated. “Do you have big plans for the weekend?”
The question stung. Once upon a time, her weekends had been filled—Friday nights with Chad, Sunday dinners with the family. Now?
Her calendar was empty.
Landry swallowed past the ache. That was okay. She could focus on her book. “No plans.”
Her mother sighed. “If you were still with Chad—”
Landry didn’t let her finish.
“I’m not with Chad.” Her voice came out sharper than she’d intended. “And I have plenty to keep me busy. No Chad required. Like I said, I’ll catch up with you later.”
She ended the call before her mother could respond.
For a moment, she sat in the car, gripping the steering wheel, staring through the windshield at nothing.
The doubts her mother had planted took root almost instantly.
Would she find someone better?
Chad was a good guy. He had loved her.
He fit in with the family.
Never had a truer statement been spoken. There had even been times when Landry had wondered if her parents loved Chad more than they loved her.
But the question that wouldn’t stop circling in her head was the one her mother had posed: Are you sure you gave it your all?
Had she?
Had she tried hard enough to make Chad see how important her writing was to her? Had she fought for the things she wanted?
Had she even tried to meet him halfway?
Landry frowned, her grip tightening on the wheel, forcing herself to really remember those conversations.
She thought she had.
But had she?
No.
Because deep down, she had always known that no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she bent herself to fit into his world, it would never be enough.
And if she had forced herself to stay with him, if she had ignored the restless ache inside her, convinced herself she could be happy with less…
She wouldn’t have just regretted it.
She would have lost herself entirely.