"And they already knew," she answered. Melody had envisioned thousands of scenarios as she laid next to his sleeping form, and none of them had prepared her for the brutal reality she faced. How hadn't she noticed how Samuel never lost sight of her before? Did she not have the sixth sense of being watched like so many of her friends claimed to have? None of it made sense.

Melody leaned heavily against the door as she thought of how to explain exactly what happened to Ben. "The wedding was already called off when I got there. Apparently, Samuel -" his name passed like venom on her lips, their heated argument still played on a vicious loop in her head, " - saw us slip away. It wasn't great." Truthfully, Melody had little desire to relay the entirety of the conversation to him. The pair of furious parents had assaulted every aspect of her character. A physical attack might have hurt less.

The outcome of her conversation with her parents didn't sway her resolve to follow whatever path Ben chose, though. As awful as it would be for her future, she would still grant him a divorce if that was what he wanted. "Where did you go?"