Despite the sharp pain making such a decision caused her, Fallon was almost certain in her choice. Jesse was willing to walk away, to allow her happiness wherever she might find it. Except, when faced with the prospect of losing him Fallon hadn't been able to cope. She couldn't let him walk away or bow out or whatever other terminology he used. She just couldn't.

Which meant losing Lachlan forever.

Fallon dropped her eyes to the untouched plate before her and nodded silently. Losing Lachlan hurt almost as bad as the prospect of losing Malou or Kieran. It was like she was carving half of her heart out of her chest and abandoning it there. "Yeah," she confirmed, her tone full of regret. "I'm going to stay with Jesse."