What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger novel Chapter 24

The celebration was intimate - just family and close friends from high school. Still, the grand ballroom felt overwhelming.

Everyone's eyes widened when they saw me there, like they'd seen a ghost. I could almost hear their thoughts: "What's she doing here after everything?"

I just smiled politely and made small talk, playing dumb. But you couldn't miss their not-so-subtle glances, the whispered conversations that stopped when I walked by. Four years of high school had taught me exactly what gossip looked like.

Needing to escape, I stepped onto the terrace for fresh air. That's when I heard voices from around the corner where his friends had cornered him by the service entrance.

"Seriously? I thought she was done with you after the whole Madison thing at the party. Now she's crawling back?"

Aiden's laugh was cold, entitled - a sound I'd never heard from him before.

"Please. She's just being dramatic. Give her a few days - you really think she'd walk away after all these years? She doesn't know how to exist without me."