POV Norah
Graduation day is the kind of day where happiness should’ve come easy, like breathing. But even as I slipped into the delicate white dress Chris had picked for me, a shadow clung to my heart.
My parents weren’t here. They wanted to be—God knew how badly my father wanted to see me walk across that stage—but Mom’s health had taken a turn last night, and Dad wouldn’t leave her side at the hospital.
I told them it was okay, that I understood, but as I pinned on the little silver earrings Mom had given me years ago, I felt the hollow ache of their absence.
“You look insane,” Fiona said, her eyes wide as she leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom.
I let out a shaky laugh, smoothing down the fabric of the dress. “You mean good insane, right?”
“The best kind,” she confirmed, stepping forward to fix the strand of hair that refused to stay tucked behind my ear.
I smiled, but there was a thickness in my throat. “I made it, Fee. After all the all-nighters, the crying over exams, the stupid cafeteria food… I finally made it.”
“And top of the class, no less.” Fiona wagged a finger at me, her voice half teasing, half proud. “Miss Valedictorian over here.”
I flushed. “It doesn’t feel real.”
Her grin softened. “It’s real. And you deserve every second of it.”
I nodded, trying not to cry and ruin the makeup she’d helped me with earlier.
The dress Chris had bought me flowed perfectly when I moved—a soft, elegant shade of ivory with a cinched waist and just the right flare at the bottom. When I first saw it, I couldn’t believe he’d gotten it right, but he had.
It made me feel like I belonged on that stage today.
“Speaking of,” Fiona said with a sly grin. “Your boy toy’s already on his way, isn’t he?”
I rolled my eyes, but my heart lifted. “Chris is not my boy toy. He’s… he’s just Chris.”
She smirked knowingly. “Uh-huh. ‘Just Chris’ who buys you dresses and makes your eyes sparkle every time you say his name.”
I shoved her playfully. “Shut up. We’re going to be late.”
By the time we reached the campus, the energy was electric.
Students in gowns rushed around, hugging, squealing, taking pictures with their caps half-cocked. Families filled the bleachers, snapping photos, waving signs, cheering as names were called.
When it was my turn, I stepped onto the stage, heart pounding in my chest. The announcer’s voice rang clear through the microphone.
“Top of the class—Norah Mason.”
Applause thundered through the air, echoing in my ears. I accepted the diploma with trembling hands, blinking back tears. It wasn’t just a piece of paper—it was proof that every sleepless night, every sacrifice, had been worth it.
Proof that I was more than what anyone thought of me.
And when I stepped off that stage and looked into the crowd, I saw Chris clapping louder than anyone, his grin so wide it lit up everything inside me.
After the ceremony, the courtyard buzzed with laughter and photographs. Fiona insisted on taking “a million pictures” of me, shoving my diploma at me, fixing my cap at an angle, posing me this way and that.
“Smile! No, a real smile. Pretend you actually like me!” she teased, snapping another photo as I laughed.
Chris stepped in then, adjusting his suit jacket. “Mind if I steal one?”
Fiona smirked. “Go ahead. I’ll get your good angle.”
I leaned against him, and he slipped an arm casually around my waist. The camera clicked, and for a moment, I forgot everything else. I forgot the weight of the last few weeks, forgot Alaina, forgot Xander. All I felt was the warmth of the day, the joy of this moment, and the simple comfort of Chris standing beside me.
“You did amazing up there,” Chris murmured, his voice low so only I could hear.
I glanced up at him. “Thanks for being here. It means… more than I can explain.”
“Of course I’m here.” His eyes softened. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Before I could answer, Fiona lifted her camera again. “Alright, enough staring into each other’s souls, lovebirds. Say cheese!”
Chris laughed, tightening his hold on me as we both faced the camera. The shutter clicked again, the sound crisp in the air.
And then—“Norah.”
The single word sliced through the chatter, sharp and commanding. My body stiffened. Slowly, I turned toward the voice.
Xander.
He stood a few feet away, his presence like a storm cloud rolling into an otherwise clear sky. His eyes weren’t on me at first—they were locked on Chris. And in that same second, Chris’s gaze snapped to him, his posture shifting, his smile fading into something harder, sharper.
A silence fell over us, heavy and suffocating. My pulse roared in my ears as I looked between them, confusion clawing up my spine.
Xander’s jaw tightened, his chest heaving as though he’d just run to get here. Chris’s lips parted, his brows pulling together as his eyes widened with something almost like recognition.
And then—like a punch to the gut—they spoke at the same time.
“Brother.”