Whispers Carved Into the Wind 2

Chapter 2 

I pulled my mouth into something like a smile and brought them both back to the Reids’ estate. 

When it was time to introduce me, everyone looked uncomfortable. Nobody knew what to say. 

So I said it first. “We’re old friends. Callum treated me like a little sister. He even said he’d set me up with someone, but then he lost his memory and forgot.” 

Everyone who knew the truth looked like they were gonna be sick. But Callum? Totally clueless. He even joked, “Okay, once I get my shit together, I’m totally hooking you up. For real.” 

I woke up in the middle of the night because I smelled smoke. 

When I got outside, I saw everything that connected me and Callum-burning in a fire pit. 

Pictures of us as kids. Awards we won together at debate competitions. Even this wooden puppet he gave me when he told me 

he loved me… 

Everything was on fire. 

My chest felt like someone was squeezing it. 

Then Callum turned around and saw me standing there. “Look, when we were both single, hanging out all the time was fine. Nobody cared.” 

‘But Riley’s living with me now. She saw all that stuff and got upset. So I burned it. Hope that’s cool.” 

I dug my nails into my palm so hard it hurt. No way was I gonna let him see me fall apart. 

‘Yeah, fine.” My voice came out dead. “Grab the stuff from my room too. Burn it all.” 

I went back inside, grabbed every single thing that had anything to do with Callum, and threw it all in the fire. 

The heat hit my face but I felt cold all over. 

The next few days? Nonstop banging and crashing from the backyard. 

Those white gardenias Callum planted for me everywhere? Ripped out. Every single one. He replaced them with red roses. Riley’s favorite. 

That greenhouse where we used to sit and watch the sunset together? Smashed it. Turned it into a lap pool so Riley could work 

out. 

Even that wooden arbor where we had our first kiss-the one covered in purple flowers? Gone. He tore it down and dug up a koi pond because Riley liked fish. 

The day they put the fish in, Riley cornered me in the yard. 

She tilted her chin up, showing off the ring on her finger: 

“Callum found the design sketch in his room and stayed up for nights making it himself. Then he proposed.” 

She waved her hand in my face. “Pretty, right? 

The infinity symbol wrapped around the band. That used to be my thing. My favorite. 

I nodded. My voice stayed even. “Yeah. It looks really good on you.” 

But her face went dark. “Well, I hate it.” 

“We both know who that design was meant for.” Her eyes were sharp, mean. “You keep saying you’re over him, but all that history you guys have? It’s a problem. I can’t relax.” 

“So what do you want?” I asked. 

“I want-” 

Before she finished, Riley suddenly threw herself sideways-straight into the muddy koi pond! 

At the same time, she shoved me. Hard. 

I stumbled and hit the ground. My ankle twisted under me, pain shooting up my leg. My palms scraped across the stone path. 

Before I could even get up, Callum came out of nowhere and jumped into the water. 

When he pulled Riley out, they were both covered in mud and filthy pond water. 

But he didn’t care about himself at all. He was frantically wiping mud off her face, his voice shaking: 

‘Riley! Jesus-you okay? Did you swallow water? Eyes? You cut?” 

Riley took forever to even shake her head. Her whole face was doing that crying thing, lip trembling, tears just pouring. “I’m ine… it’s the ring. The one you gave me. Someone threw it in the water and I-I went after it. That’s when I fell.” 

She held up her hand. The ring was gone. 

‘Your family hates me, Callum.” She was crying so hard she could barely talk. “Can we go back to our apartment? At least nobody there’s mean to me.” 

That sad, broken look on her face just destroyed him. 

His eyes went ice-cold. “Who threw your ring in? Who hurt you?” 

Riley pressed her lips together. Didn’t say a word. Just glanced at me real quick, and the fear and hurt in her eyes said everything. 

I was still holding my swollen ankle. My voice came out shaky. “It wasn’t me…” 

Callum’s gaze cut toward me. Cold enough to freeze. “You know what you did.” 

Then he scooped Riley up and looked at one of the security guys. “Whoever threw the ring needs to find it.” 

The guard got it immediately. He grabbed my arm and started dragging me toward the pond. 

The water was freezing. The second I went under, my whole body went numb. I tried to crawl back out, but hands kept shoving me down. 

hapter 2 

“Miss Monroe, no ring, no getting out.” The guard’s voice had zero emotion. “Wanna make this easier on yourself? Start looking.” 

So I gave up and just stayed in that freezing, filthy water, running my hands through the mud over and over. 

Dirty water kept getting in my sleeves. My fingers went stiff and numb. 

From sunrise to sunset. Finally, right before Mr. and Mrs. Reid got home, I found it. 

held onto that ring and dragged myself to Callum’s bedroom door. Knocked softly. 

He opened it. Looked down at me. His voice was flat. “Just this once. Stay away from Riley.” 

Then tossed the ring out the window. Didn’t even look. “She hates that design. I’ll make her something new.” 

hat ring. The one I’d spent hours in freezing water searching for? Just-gone. 

almost smiled. 

light. Our past was garbage to him now. Course he’d throw it out.