EMBER’S POV

My heart twists in my chest.

Because of my mother, I always viewed my capacity to love, to forgive, and to unlearn as my absolute greatest flaw.

I hated being the kindest person in the room, because it usually meant being the first one taken advantage of.

But why should I bear the burden of other people’s cruelty? Why should I crush the one thing most of the world has entirely lost?

If there is one thing I know for certain now, it is that some people are worth the extra mile. They are worth the second chance, the kindness, and the forgiveness. It isn’t naivety anymore.

My...