Year Five: The Perfect Goodbye Plan novel Chapter 15

Her presence was like a glaring lightbulb—impossible to ignore.

Sometimes, Silvia thought, the two of them seemed more like lovers than anything else.

As the car rolled through an intersection, Silvia spotted a small dog darting out into the street.

She was about to shout a warning when Shipley slammed on the brakes.

It had poured all afternoon, leaving the roads slick as ice. The tires skidded, the car sliding forward even after Shipley’s foot hit the pedal.

Silvia’s head slammed into the back of the passenger seat. Pain shot across her forehead.

She sucked in a sharp breath, a low groan escaping before she could stop herself.

Her hand flew up to shield her brow, but her whole head was spinning.

At last, the car came to a shaky stop.

As Silvia gathered herself, she lifted her gaze and caught the man in the driver’s seat—his eyes fixed, not on her, but on Vianne.

“Vianne, are you alright?” he asked, his voice gentle as a sigh.

That tenderness twisted inside Silvia. In all the years she’d known Shipley, he’d never spoken to her like that—not even when she was hurt. If he ever bothered to ask, his words had always been brisk, never this soft.

“I’m fine,” Vianne replied, turning in her seat to glance at the back. “Silvia, did you hurt yourself? I thought I heard you cry out…”

Those last words—“cry out”—she seemed to emphasize, as if to point out that even though Silvia had called out in pain, the first person Shipley worried about wasn’t her.

The question sounded caring, but beneath it lurked a challenge, subtle as a knife’s edge.

“I’m alright,” Silvia answered quietly, her tone frosty.

Only then did Shipley finally look back at her. “Sweet Silvia, are you hurt?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s just go home,” Silvia murmured, dropping her eyes.

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