felt truly like herself. The rest of the time, she was drifting.
“I can do this.”
“Cora…” Her father’s forehead folded into a deep crease. “You know I want only to protect you, right? I saw what fame and a life in the spotlight did to your mother. The rejection and constant criticism twisted her. It turned her into someone I didn’t even know anymore.”
The pain in his voice lashed like a whip across her heart. Her mother had been wrong that day—he had loved her. They’d loved each other.
Maybe, on some level, he still loved the woman her mother used to be.
“I’m not her,” Cora said stubbornly. “Trust me, I spent every waking hour of every day making sure I am the very opposite of who she is as a person.”
Her father nodded. For a moment, he said nothing, simply looked at her through the phone screen a whole hemisphere away. Cora wanted to plead with him. Beg him.
Trust me. Believe in me.
But she couldn’t open herself up like that. Rejection for her work she could handle, even though it hurt. Rejection of herself, however, was a whole other—deeper—wound.
“I have to get back to work,” he said gruffly. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay after I gave my feedback.”
“I can handle it,” she said, pasting on a cheery smile. In return, she saw some of the worry evaporate from her father’s face.
“That’s my girl.”
The call clicked off, and Cora stared at the tattoo peeking out from where her silky robe had parted over her thigh.
Metamorphosis.
She wanted to be better. To be good enough to do all the things she craved in life—publish a book, fall in love, have a happy marriage strong enough to erase the scars created by her parents’ tumultuous one. Eventually she would find the right combination to unlock those things, right?
If only she worked hard enough. If only she kept trying to do her best. Eventually good things would come.
Chapter Ten
That night, when Trent came home from work, Cora was still engrossed in the romance novel. She’d taken a break midday to go for a walk around Liv’s property, stopping to pick some pretty flowers along the way. The long walk had also taken her past a little corner store, which they called a “milk bar,” that had basic things like milk—hence the name—eggs, cereal, bread, etc.
She’d bought enough to make her favorite egg salad and lettuce sandwiches for lunch (secret ingredient: cayenne) and picked up some supplies for dinner. The rest of the afternoon had been spent cutting out the photocopied pictures for the scrapbook, then reading. Despite her belief that poor Kylie was headed for marital disaster, she couldn’t stop turning the pages. At this rate, the book wouldn’t last her much longer.
The fall of heavy-booted footsteps made Cora sit up. A second later, the door rattled and there was a gruff noise, followed by the jangle of keys. One in the regular lock, then the deadlock.
“Oh wait!” Cora jumped up and ran to the door as Trent tried to push it open, where it yanked against the chain she’d slid across after returning home that afternoon. “You won’t get too far with that.”
Trent shook his head, laughing as he stepped into the house, his dusty boots abandoned outside. “City girl, you don’t need three locks on the door, you know.”
“Well, it’s better to be safe,” she said, folding her arms across her chest. “And why have the locks in the first place if you’re not going to use them?”
“I think the guy who used to live here was paranoid. The only thing you need to worry about round here are the kind of things that aren’t stopped by locks.”
Spiders. She shuddered. Thankfully no creepy crawlies had come into the house yet, but Cora remained vigilant. She’d raided Liv’s pantry of all cans of bug spray and kept them dotted around the house.
She really was a city girl.
“I’m only teasing,” he said softly. “Picking on city folk is a local sport.”
“Well, I’m sure you would struggle with things if you were staying at my place,” she said. If Trent wanted to tease her, then she would give it right back.
“Oh yeah, like what?”
“Well, you have your spiders and snakes and things, and we New Yorkers have rats. Big rats.” She nodded. “And raccoons.”
Trent looked at her skeptically. “Raccoons are adorable.”
“No, they are aggressive trash pandas who will rain hellfire down on you with their tiny, angry hands if you get in the