?Chapter 1732:


    The moment she stepped through the front door, Sharon and Josie hurried toward her almost instinctively.


    “Ste, you look terrible. What did you even go out to buy?” Sharon’s eyes dropped to her empty hands.


    Josie stepped closer, her tone soft with concern. “You were gone for ages. We were really worried about you.”


    Seeing the worry written inly across the faces of her two closest friends, Ste felt a tangle of emotions surge sharply in her chest. Her lips parted, but every thought jammed in her throat, leaving her unable to force out a single word.


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    How was she supposed to tell them that William had slept with Alisha? And if she did, what would they think of her? She couldn’t bear to see that familiar look of pain and sympathy in their faces again. This was not something that should be an unavoidable subject between the three of them. Revisiting it over and over would only exhaust the care andfort they gave her, and she didn’t want that.


    Ste gave a small shake of her head and steadied her voice. “I’m okay. I just walked around the mall for a bit, didn’t see anything I wanted, and came home.”


    With that brief exnation, she slipped past them and went straight upstairs.


    “Ste…”


    Sharon sensed immediately that something was wrong and took a step to follow, but Josie reached out and stopped her. Josie’s brows drew together as she watched Ste disappear around the turn of the staircase. Only then did she speak. “Give her some space for now.”


    Even without knowing what had happened while Ste was out, Josie could tell she needed to be alone. Pushing her at a moment like this would only make things worse.


    The bedroom door shut quietly behind Ste, sealing off the noise, the light, and the rest of the world.


    Perched on the edge of the bed, finally alone, she allowed every wall she had built to copse. Tears slid down her face in silence, soaking into the sheets beneath her. She had no sense of how much time passed before the sobbing gradually eased and she could breathe evenly again.


    Beyond the window, rain poured relentlessly, casting everything outside into a dull, gray blur.


    She picked up her phone and opened William’s contact once more. This time, she didn’t pause or hesitate — her finger tapped the call button immediately. The ringing stretched on long enough that the call nearly dropped before someone finally answered.


    William’s voice came through low and distant, stripped of warmth. “Hello?”


    Ste’s chest tightened painfully. “Are you busy?”


    The moment the words left her mouth, they struck her aspletely absurd. Even now, she was still asking whether he had time for her. Shouldn’t she be shouting instead?


    A brief silence settled on the other end of the line. Then William spoke again, his tone noticeably colder than before. “What is it?”


    William’s words drove into Ste’s heart like a de of ice.


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