Chapter 13
HOLLY
Iwas a coward.
It wasn’t easy to admit, but the truth sat heavy in my chest as I refreshed Liam’s Instagram page for the third time today.
His posts hadn’t changed all week—just the same blurry photo of Cam, his line cook, flipping burgers behind the bar grill, and a close-up of a perfectly poured tequila with an orange slice on the glass’s rim, paired with a caption that made me ache: Missing something today, but the show goes on.
The comments were playful, filled with inside jokes from regulars and a handful of strangers saying they’d order one tonight…
even though for some of those people their tonight was three nights ago.
But no one knew what I knew—Liam posted that for me.
Possibly as an olive branch since I’d ignored every call and text he’d sent.
What started as a flood of communication on day one had trickled into a single text every day or so.
I knew they’d stop altogether if I didn’t do something soon.
The potential abandonment hurt in ways I didn’t know were possible. It had been two weeks since I ran and the ache of leaving hadn’t dulled. It wasn’t just guilt—it was something else. Something primal. Something terrifying.
Our bond.
The ugly truth that we were soulmates.
Even thinking the word made my heart race in an I might puke then pass out sort of way.
The idea of one person being destined for me should’ve felt romantic.
Magical even. But it was suffocating. To love someone so deeply meant giving them the power to destroy you.
I never wanted someone to have that kind of control over me.
I wanted love, but I wanted the freedom to walk away if we grew apart.
I wasn’t sure that was possible for us because my magic complicated things.
Still, ignoring Liam was probably the hardest thing I’d ever done, which was why I’d blocked his number and deleted it from my phone. The temptation to call him was too strong.
But that didn’t mean I couldn’t low-key creep on him.
I swiped the screen and switched from his personal account to Abbott’s business page.
Liam had updated the hours and made a post about exciting changes on the horizon.
Nothing specific about the bet, but knowing him, he was probably working on plan B—a new Abbott’s.
Guilt rocked me to my core. I said I’d help him get things off the ground and here I was hiding. I was a terrible person.
A knock on my door startled me out of my guilt-ridden thoughts.
Every instinct warned me to ignore it. Liam hadn’t popped by yet, which was surprising considering how our friendship started.
He was so determined to be a part of my life that I half expected him to show up the day after I ran and demand an explanation.
He never came. It didn’t mean he still couldn’t or that I was ready to face him if he were at the door, but I just thought…
I sighed. I didn’t know what I thought. Or wanted.
“Holly, open up,” Dahlia’s voice called from outside. “I’ve got pizza and wine, and I’m not leaving until you let me in.”
A strange feeling shot through me. I was both relieved and disappointed she wasn’t Liam.
I teasingly groaned loud enough for her to hear, got up, and opened the door.
Dahlia breezed past me, balancing a pizza box in one hand and holding a bottle of wine in the other.
She went straight to the living room, set them on the coffee table, then proceeded to scold me.
“You’ve been ghosting everyone for almost two weeks now. What the hell is going on?”
“Nothing,” I muttered, crossing my arms. This wasn’t Dahlia’s job. I was the mother hen of the group. I kept everyone’s life on track, not her. My track may be a little messy right now, but everything that mattered was still moving forward. She didn’t need to come and do… whatever this was.
“Right.” Dahlia walked into my kitchen and grabbed two glasses. She then popped the cork on the wine and poured. “Care to explain why you’ve been ignoring everyone? And don’t give me some bullshit excuse about work.”
I took the outstretched glass and sank onto the couch.
The move was risky, but my dark cushions had hidden more than one accidental spill over the years.
I stared at the hazy pink liquid like it held the answers to my problems. For anyone wondering, it did not.
I tried soul-searching in a bottle of wine twice now and discovered that I had turned into the kind of girl who may or may not have driven past Abbott’s to see if Liam’s car was in the parking lot.
“I needed time to think.”
“Think about what?” Dahlia grabbed a slice of pizza and sat next to me. She chewed on a cheesy bite, casually waiting for me to bare my soul.
I hesitated. Dahlia might’ve been my sister and closest friend, but this? This was too raw, too personal.
“Liam,” she said after finishing nearly half her slice while waiting for me to answer. She tossed what was left on the cardboard box and leveled her gaze on me. “This is about Liam, isn’t it?”
My heart skipped a beat. Was I that transparent?
I didn’t think I looked heartbroken. I’d showered, shaved, and even made a point to style my hair.
I didn’t have much experience with broken hearts, but every time Autumn got dumped she looked like hell.
Matted hair, blotchy skin. The same sweatpants and t-shirt for days.
Plus, the baking. We’d have to intervene and take all of her flour and sugar away, or else she’d gain ten pounds.
I thought I looked fine. Because I was fine. I traded my wine for pizza and shot Dahlia a look that said see, I’m fine, but stupidly said, “I don’t want to talk about Liam.”
Dahlia narrowed her eyes but didn’t press. Instead, she picked up her slice of pizza and chewed thoughtfully. After a moment, she said, “I met him, you know. At the bar on St. Patrick’s Day.”
My head snapped up. “You what?”
Anger burned a hole through my haze of heartbreak.
Dahlia swore, over and over again, that she didn’t use her magic on me.
She insisted that I wasn’t under one of her love spells gone wrong.
And now she admitted that she lied! I could’ve killed her.
Hell, if her mismatched lovers felt this terrible when their love spells didn’t work out, they probably wanted to kill her, too!
Well, they would’ve if they knew what she did to them.
“Relax,” she said, holding up a hand. “I didn’t influence him or anything. We just talked.”
My stomach twisted as my thoughts spiraled back to that first night. I knew something felt off between us, but I think I hoped our connection was real and I was just scared. “Talked about what?”
“Him, mostly.” She leaned back, swirling her wine.
“I don’t think I’ve ever explained but with my magic, the world is a sea of colors.
People’s auras don’t light up until they’re near their soulmates.
That’s how I know who to pair together. That night, Liam lit up gold.
It confused me because no one else matched his spirit. ”
Gold. Like the threads of magic that wrapped around us. I stared at her, my heart pounding. Hoping. Fearing. Wanting…
“Then, he asked about you,” Dahlia continued, her gaze steady. “And I had a hunch. One that was confirmed during our last girls’ night. When I saw you light up gold, too.”
I reached for my glass of wine and nearly spilled it because my hands were trembling so badly.
“Holly,” Dahlia said softly, leaning forward. She took the glass from me and set it on the table, then held my hand. “I didn’t meddle in your love life. I never have, and I never will. But you’re being a fool if you let Liam go. He’s the one you’ve been waiting for.”
Tears burned my eyes. I bit down hard on my lip, hoping the sting would hold them back, but all it did was send the flood spilling over. “What happens if I don’t accept the bond? Will he be lonely for the rest of his life?”
“No,” Dahlia said, shaking her head. “He’ll be broken for a while, but eventually, his soul will split.
One piece will always belong to you, but it will search for another rejected bond to match with.
” She hesitated, the truth pressing heavy between us.
“But it will never be the same. It will never feel as right as it could have with you.”
My breath hitched as the ache in my chest grew unbearable. He’ll move on. The thought was supposed to be comforting, but it only hollowed me out. I squeezed my eyes shut, as if that could block out the truth.
“I…” I looked at her again. “I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to break him.”
“Then don’t,” she whispered.
But fear had already taken root, its thorny vines tangling in my heart. I didn’t want to ask the next question. Didn’t want to give voice to the terror that gripped me, but it tore free, raw and desperate.
“What if you’re wrong?” My voice cracked. “What if I start a life with Liam—build something real—and then in March…” My breath caught as a sob hitched in my throat. “What if my magic stirs? What if Mom was wrong? What if there’s no escaping this curse, no running from this life?”
“Holly,” Dahlia said firmly, her eyes blazing with determination. “You can’t live your life in a world of ‘what ifs.’ You have to decide what you want and say, ‘fuck the consequences.’ You’ll never find happiness if you live in that grey area. It all comes down to, what do you want?”
I stared at her, my heart in my throat. What did I want? For the first time since my magic stirred to life, I let myself imagine what it would be like to settle down. To be with Liam.
I took a deep breath, already knowing the answer and hoped I wasn’t too late.