Saoirse’s POV

  The entire ride home, I was silent.

  Cian didn’t speak either. He just drove, his jaw tight, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white.

  But I couldn’t feel anything.

  Not anger.

  Not heartbreak.

  Just… emptiness.

  By the time we reached home, I barely registered stepping out of the car. My body moved on instinct, feet carrying me inside until—

  Warm arms wrapped around me.

  “Mom…” My voice cracked as I buried myself into Fiona’s embrace.

  And just like that—

  I shattered.

  The tears I had been holding in rushed out all at once, my sobs shaking my body. I clutched at her, my fingers twisting into the fabric of her dress as if letting go would mean falling apart completely.

  “Mom, I—” My breath hitched. “I really loved him.” My voice broke on the st word.

  I felt her stiffen for half a second, then her hand smoothed over my hair, stroking gently.

  “Oh, sweetheart…” She pulled me closer, her warmth wrapping around me like a shield. “Tell me what happened.”

  So I did.

  I told her everything.

  Cian stood off to the side, his arms crossed, face unreadable. My grandmother, Kathleen, had come into the room by then too, standing behind Fiona, her face full of concern.

  When I finished, Fiona’s arms tightened around me.

  “Oh, my girl…” she whispered. “He was a fool. A stupid, reckless fool. And he lost the best thing he ever had.”

  Grandma pced a gentle hand on my shoulder. “It hurts now, darling, but one day, you’ll look back and realize—he didn’t deserve you.”

  But right now?

  It still hurt.

  That night, I slept in Fiona’s bed.

  She held me close, running her fingers through my hair, humming softly.

  Like she had done when I was a child.

  Like a real mother.

  And for the first time since that awful moment in the school hallway—

  I felt safe.