Ellie’s POV

I’ve always been the kind of girl who craves stability but somehow ends up surrounded by chaos.

At twenty-two, I was still living at home with Mom, juggling community college classes, part-time shifts at the local café, and the quiet ache of watching my friends move on with their lives while mine felt stuck in limbo.

Mom has always been a whirlwind,beautiful, ambitious, and constantly chasing the next big opportunity.

She worked long hours in corporate sales, traveling more often than she was home.

Our house was nice, a two-story place with a pool in the backyard that I mostly had to myself.

I’d grown up here after...