She Turned Her Grief Into Wings novel Chapter 78

Because of that, she went out of her way to avoid Rhys whenever possible.

There was no denying that he was incredibly important to her, but... strictly as family.

There were certain boundaries she absolutely refused to cross, and she didn't want to even entertain the idea.

She figured someone as emotionally perceptive as Rhys would have picked up on her reluctance by now.

Naturally, talking about Rhys led to mentioning Caden, which inevitably brought the conversation back to Shera's father.

Xenia had originally planned to visit Lenny's grave as soon as she got back. Since they were already on the topic, she bought some supplies, and the two of them headed to the cemetery together.

On the drive up the mountain, Shera told Xenia all about what had happened during her father's hospitalization.

Compared to her previous visits, the raw, aching grief had faded significantly.

Maybe it was time, or maybe it was because Evegrace was thriving, but subconsciously, it felt like her father was still with her.

Fulfilling his unfinished dream had given her life a sense of purpose and hope again.

In front of the tombstone sat a fresh bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine.

Noticing the items and the clearly swept ground, Xenia asked, "Did you just come here a few days ago?"

Shera looked equally surprised. She had been so wrapped up in the competition that she hadn't been here in almost a month. And Rhys had been on a business trip for over a week, so it definitely wasn't him.

Pondering for a moment, she said, "Maybe one of my dad's old friends came to visit him."

But Shera had stopped her. Xenia was in the middle of her final graduation preparations, and Shera didn't want her to derail her academic future over this. Feeling entirely useless and unable to share her best friend's burden, Xenia had done the only thing she could—hired people to help manage the funeral arrangements.

As Shera's oldest friend, the fact that she hadn't been there when Shera needed her the most, that she couldn't fix things when everything fell apart, was a source of deep, lingering guilt.

Seeing Xenia drop her head, her jaw clenched tight, Shera instantly knew she was spiraling into her own guilt again.

"Alright, we've visited him. It's time to head home. If we wait any longer, the crabs I bought are going to die."

Shera physically dragged her away, completely cutting off the emotional downward spiral.

As the two walked down the mountain and passed the security booth, the guard called out to them.