But I will not let Luisa get away with this. She took Declan from me, more than once. And she needs to pay.

Three Days After

The funeral was something else.

Thousands of people packed into the funeral home for the memorial and drove in the procession to the cemetery. The priest remarked more than once that he’d never seen such an outpouring of love and support.

Kane went with his family at the front of the procession. I was stuck in the back, with Nina and Javier. Nina had been crying nonstop since she’d heard the news. Javier was driving, reaching out every so often to pull her close, kissing her forehead. For the first time, it struck me that Javier hadn’t been forced with Nina because of all of us. From the way he kept holding her, touching her, looking at her to make sure she was okay, he really cared.

Declan once cared about me like that.

Now he was dead. About to be put in the ground for eternity.

I fingered the necklace I’d taken to wearing—even when I slept and showered—and swallowed a sob. Diamonds are forever. And so are we.

Because Javier’s SUV was at the end of the procession and rain was coming down in ceaseless sheets, by the time we’d slogged over the muddy patches of snow to the grave site, the ceremony had already begun. I had to stand behind rows and rows of people, and I couldn’t hear the priest over the patter of rain and the sobs of onlookers.

Not a single one of us had an umbrella. I’m not sure if it was because the rain hadn’t been forecast, or because we’d all been too aggrieved to think of it. But I stood there, in the mud, thinking that rain always falls on the funerals of the truly virtuous. Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on.

Afterward, we were all able to walk past the grave and throw a flower onto the coffin after it was lowered into the ground. I waited for what seemed like hours for my turn, my puffer coat and navy-blue dress so soaked that I could feel rainwater sliding down my rib cage. My hair was as wet as if I’d emerged from the shower without wringing it out. Trailing behind Nina and Javier, I took one of the last roses from the bucket, and as I did, my eyes met those of Mr. and Mrs. Weeks, Kane, and Luisa.

Luisa stared at me as I looked over the casket, trying to think of words I could say to Declan. The only thing that came wasn’t very eloquent, but I suppose it said it all. I’m sorry.

Before I could throw in my rose, someone snatched my wrist. “He doesn’t need anything from you,” Luisa snapped at me.