It was hard enough for Silver to hold herself together in light of the situation, but sitting beside Fabiana and getting probed by her perceptive eyes made it nearly impossible. Emotion clogged Silver’s throat as she coughed. She had to remain strong, keep her problems to herself. There was no way she could burden Fabiana with them. The poor woman had enough to deal with without Silver adding to the mix.

“So, you and Ace called it quits?” Fabiana began, disappointment sounding in her voice.

“Yes, it wasn’t going to work.”

Fabiana paused soaking it in before nodding, a grim look on her face. Her eyes locked with Silver’s. “Do you love him?”

Silver rocked back, clutching her hands together in her lap. Not the question she expected. She wrestled with how to answer. “Yes, I love him,” she admitted, then squared her jaw, resentment coating her throat. “But love is not enough.” She shook her head. “Believe me, if I could’ve found a way to make it work, I would have.”

Fabiana arched an eyebrow. “Well, love is certainly a good starting point. Do you remember what I told you on the phone, the night of Ariana’s party?”

“Of course.” Silver had lived by those words … until reality came crashing down around her.

“Look, I’m not trying to act like you don’t have problems.” Fabiana grimaced. “It’s called life.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “It’s like I told you over the phone, there are two kinds of people—those that sit around waiting for their happily ever-after to come to them, effortlessly like it does in a fairy tale, and those who go out and make things happen.”

Her penetrating eyes cut into Silver’s with such intensity that Silver had the impression Fabiana was seeing into her soul.

“You strike me as the latter,” Fabiana continued. “Nothing comes easy in this world.” Her eyes sparked as she clenched her fist, her voice rising. “You have to go out, hunt that happily ever-after down, and drag it back, holding onto it with a death grip. Only then will you be successful. Don’t let fear keep you from being happy. Fight for what you want, because it’s only after the fight that you’ll truly appreciate it.”

Tears burned Silver’s eyes. Oh, how she wished those words were true. If only there was a way to fix this sordid mess—escape the impending doom looming over her head.

“It always gets worse before it gets better, but you have to keep moving forward in faith.” She smiled. “And prayer helps too. I know you’ll find a way to work through your problems. I believe in you,” she finished, her voice ringing with conviction.

Silver could no longer stay the hot tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping at them with the palms of her hands. She had to get out of here before she totally lost it. She stood. “Thank you. I’m sorry, but I have to go,” she squeaked.

Fabiana nodded in understanding.

Silver fled the room and had to freeze in her tracks to keep from nearly barreling into the back of Ace’s dad. She hadn’t realized everyone was waiting right outside the room. Her cheeks burned as she sniffed, trying to dry the tears.

Ace stepped up to her, touching her arm. “Are you okay?” He glared at the closed door. “What did my mother say to you?”

“Nothing,” she answered quickly. “It wasn’t her.”

She swiped at her runny nose. “Gracie, we need to go,” she squeaked, trying to salvage what little dignity she could.

“No, to Ace’s house,” she countered stubbornly. “The princess bedroom.”

Silver wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. Desperation clawed at her as she fought to keep her voice even. “That’s not possible, honey.”

Ace caught hold of her arm. “We need to talk,” he said, his jaw tightening.

“This is neither the time nor the place,” she countered, giving him a frosty look. She felt like she was coming unglued, hysteria gripping the edges of her mind.

“No,” he nearly yelled. “We’re talking right here, right now. We can either do it in private or right here in the hall in front of my family and the nurses. Your decision.”

They stared at each other, neither willing to back down.

“Gracie can stay here with me,” Ariana offered. She pointed. “There’s an empty conference room a couple of doors down.”

“Fine,” Silver muttered. She jerked her arm out of Ace’s grasp and stomped in that direction.

When they entered the conference room, Silver sat down at the table and folded her arms over her chest. Ace sat down beside her.

“You got your wish. Now talk!” Silver ordered.

Ace swore under his breath, running his hands through his hair. “Why did you leave like that? What happened? Did Riley or Dinah threaten you?” Anguish twisted his features. “Was it something I did?”

She took a deep breath. Her eyes were puffy and sore, and she felt like a total wreck. “No, it wasn’t you.”

He angled to face her, leaning forward. “Okay, then what?”

Her heart broke at that—shattered into a million unrecognizable pieces. Ace was right here in front of her, and she was powerless to go to him. She longed to touch his beautiful face, run her fingers through his hair, crush her lips to his. “It won’t work between us,” she said, her voice sounding insignificant in her ears.

Ace’s face fell. “You don’t believe that.”

“I have to be practical, put Gracie’s needs before my own.”

“What does this have to do with Gracie?” A furious expression overtook him. “This is Riley and Dinah’s doing, isn’t it?”

He pounded the table with his fist. “It is, isn’t it?”

She saw the course she must take—rolled out before her like an endless funeral procession. If she told Ace the truth, he’d fight for her until he was battered and broken, his family destroyed. “I’m going back to Riley.”

Shock rippled over his features as he took in a ragged breath. “What?” His jaw worked as he grappled to make sense of her words. “I don’t believe it.”

“It’s true.” She was dead and empty inside. “I realized that leaving him was a mistake.” She felt like a prisoner of war, reading a rote script for the camera.

“You’re lying,” he muttered. “What did they do to you?”

Silence.

“What did they do?” he roared, knocking over a chair.

She flinched. “It’s over, Ace.”

“Don’t say that. You love me, as I love you.”

She had the curious sensation of being detached from the situation, watching someone else’s life implode rather than her own. “I’m going back to Riley. We’re getting remarried. Gracie needs to be with her father. The announcement will be made Saturday at Bruce Coulter’s birthday party.”

He let out an incredulous laugh. “Are you serious? Riley has never been a father to Gracie. You said so yourself. I don’t believe this!” He grabbed her arms. “I love you, Silver.” His eyes grew pleading.

“Let go of me,” she ordered.

He released her arms. “Don’t do this. Please. I can’t lose you again.”

A silent scream wrenched her throat as the room began to spin. She stumbled to her feet.

“Silver,” he yelled, as she pushed past him. “Silver!”

Her only thought was to get to Gracie and get as far away from Ace Sanchez as she could.