The trip was shorter than what she expected, it was the neighboring country Damien had booked a villa near the beach.
She hated how calm everything looked.
The ocean moved like it didn't care. Like the world hadn't just shattered under her feet. The sky was too blue. The waves too gentle. The kind of peaceful that made her angry.
Celeste sat in the sand, watching the water roll in and out like it was mocking her. Damien was a few feet away, talking to some guy from the villa about dinner reservations. She didn't care.
Her fingers dug into the sand.
One test. That's all it took for her whole life to get flipped upside down. A stupid DNA result, blasted on screens and phones and newspapers. Maureen's voice still echoed in her head: "She's not even Celeste." And then Jean. Jean, who didn't even flinch when he confirmed it. Elise with her soft voice saying "But she's still our daughter."
Still.
That word haunted her.
Still meant not really. Still meant "in spite of." Still meant broken.
She hadn't said anything since they got to the beach. What was there to say? That she didn't know who she was? That the name she carried might belong to a stranger? That the only thing she knew how to do now was sit still and not fall apart?
Damien returned, brushing sand off his hands.
"You haven't moved in an hour," he said quietly.
She didn't look at him. "I didn't come here to move."
He exhaled, crouching beside her. "I booked something for tonight. It's a little club downtown. Just music, drinks, no press."
"I'm not in the mood to dance."
"I know." He paused. "But you're also not in the mood to sit here and drown."
She shot him a look, sharp and dry. "You think music's gonna fix this?"
"No," he said. "But it might remind you you're still alive."
Celeste looked back at the ocean. Her jaw clenched. Something in her chest twisted hard.
She didn't want to go. But she also didn't want to stay here in her head. If there was even a chance she could feel something — anything — she might take it.
"Fine," she said. "But if it's full of people staring at me, I'm leaving."
Damien nodded. "Fair."
She stood, brushing the sand off her legs, and followed him back toward the villa without another word.