Nathan would lose me, sure, but his career would get a second wind. If my investments worked out, everyone would get a piece of the pie. My head finally overruled my heart.

“Let’s not meet up this time. I’ll call you when I’m back in Shaville,” I said.

Nathan sounded disappointed. “But I hurried back just to see you.”

“There’ll be plenty of chances for us to meet. No need to squeeze it in now,” I reassured him.

Nathan didn’t want to hang up, but I ended the call anyway. I headed out of the mall with Yvonne and dropped her off with Jared.

Jared was waiting for us at the entrance. When he saw our car pull up, he walked over and opened the back door.

“Dad…” Yvonne called out, her voice soft and a little clingy.

Jared gently ruffled her hair, then turned to me. “Where are you off to now?”

“Just heading home to pack a few things before I head back to Shaville,” I replied.

Jared looked at me with a complicated expression, then said, “I’m starting to regret letting you go to Shaville.”

I just smiled. “Mr. Holcomb, no matter how clever your schemes are, even the best-laid plans can’t beat fate. Sometimes, you just have to accept your destiny.”

Jared shook his head helplessly. “Yeah, if I’d known he was in Shaville, I would’ve just sent you off to Showtown instead.”

“Who’s in Shaville? Is there someone there?” Yvonne asked, still a bit confused.

I arched a brow. “Goodbye, Mr. Holcomb.”

“Bye, Mom!” Yvonne waved her little hand at my car.

As I watched the two of them through the rearview mirror, I actually felt a sense of relief. My daughter’s finally got her act together, and my ex can handle her now.

I rushed back to my apartment. I hadn’t really brought much with me the last time I was here, so I just needed to pack up a few things and get myself organized.

Just then, my parents called to see how I was doing. Ever since the divorce, they’ve always worried I was just putting on a brave face and hadn’t really gotten over it, so every now and then they’d check in to make sure I was okay. When they heard I was heading to Shaville, they figured I was still stuck in the past, just trying to run away from it all. Every time, I’d chat with them about how things were going—work stuff, daily life, all the little things.

After chatting for over ten minutes, another call came through—it was Melissa Jenkins. Coming back to Hachester had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I hadn’t reached out to her at all. Now that she was calling, she must’ve heard I was back in town.

I ended the call with my mom and picked up when Melissa Jenkins rang.

“Victoria, did you hear what happened at Nathan’s company?” Melissa asked, her voice full of worry.

I let out a sigh, my tone a little heavy. “Yeah, I know all about it.”

“Don’t let it get to you, okay? Seriously, Nathan promised to be with someone else, but he still came after you. Ugh, it makes me so mad I want to smack Zachary,” Melissa fumed.

I could tell she was genuinely on my side, so I chuckled. “What does Zachary have to do with any of this?”

Melissa snorted. “He said he knew about Nathan and that Miss Chancellor the whole time, but kept it from us. Tell me that doesn’t deserve a good slap.”

I paused for a second.

“Melissa, this is Nathan’s fault, not Zachary’s. Don’t blame him for this. I’ll only be at ease if you two are good,” I said, remembering how Melissa had been married and divorced three times in my previous life. I couldn’t help but worry about her—she’s always been so blunt and hot-tempered, and I really didn’t want her to go down that same road again.

“We’re running into our own mess, too. His family wants him to marry a local girl. We were supposed to go house-hunting, but we haven’t even bothered. He’s still butting heads with his folks about it,” Melissa said, sounding worn out. “Dating is just about two people, but marriage? That’s a whole family war. I guess I was way too optimistic.”

Hearing that self-mocking tone from Melissa, my heart ached for her.

“So what will you do if his family still won’t accept you?” I asked.

Melissa tried to play it cool. “What else can I do? Just suck it up, I guess. If you and Nathan could call it quits, Zachary and I could break up in a snap.”

I was just about to say something to comfort her when the doorbell suddenly rang. I glanced at the clock—it was already 4:50. I was already running more than twenty minutes late.

“Melissa, let’s talk later. I’ll call you back,” I said softly.

“Hey, don’t let all that Nathan drama get you down. I’ve seen pics of that Miss Chancellor—trust me, she’s got nothing on you in the looks department,” Melissa added, trying to lift my spirits.

I couldn’t help but give a wry smile, hung up the phone, and went to open the door—only to find Nathan standing right outside.