Page 191 of This Life of Mine
“Oh, my God,” she whispers. “Oh, my God.”
The fight drains out of her voice, replaced by something raw and shattered.
“That woman,” she says, like the words hurt coming out, “was your mother-in-law.”
I stare into the night, allowing her time to grasp the situation.
“I don’t even know where to start with this,” Val continues, her voice cracking now. “I don’t know what to do with it. I don’t know how anyone does.”
She lets out a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry, Lina.”
I can hear her sniffling, trying to stop herself from bursting into tears. Then…
“Fuck the socials,” she says. “Fuck TikTok and IG. Fuck the narrative.” Her voice breaks. “This isn’t damage control, Lina. This is—this is your life.”
Tears sting my eyes, relief and grief tangled together.
“I know,” I say. “I don’t think we can handle this alone.”
There’s a pause.
Then I add, carefully, “I think we need to hire someone. PR. Crisis management. Someone who knows how to handle something this big.”
Val doesn’t answer right away.
When she does, her voice is thick. “Yeah,” she says, swallowing hard. “Yeah. You’re right.”
She exhales, long and shaky.
“I’m so sorry,” she says. “I’m so fucking sorry you had to hear all of that. That you had toliveit.”
Her voice breaks completely then, and I hear her cry—quiet, angry tears, the kind she never lets herself have.
“I’m here,” she adds quickly, like she needs me to know it. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I press my lips together, nodding even though she can’t see me.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“We’ll deal with the world later,” Val says, her voice steadier now, resolute beneath the grief.
“Okay,” I say, meaning it more than she knows.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you too,” I reply.
I hang up and return my phone to my pocket, my hands shaking.
The noise of the sirens fades, and I take in a deep breath.
Alex steps closer. He’s been quiet, watchful—making sure I’m steady before worrying about anything else.
“I heard,” he says. “Reese can help too. He can manage the feeds, suppress the worst of it, keep things from spiraling.”
I nod. “That would help. Thank you.”
He pulls me close to him and hugs me. Being in his arms after all that feels so good, so…safe. And that word still surprises me.
