For eight years, my parents made me leave whenever my brother’s fiancée visited. “She’s from a g0od family. Don’t embarrass us,” Mom said. So 0ne weekend, I disappeared for good. Four years later, they finally discovered where I’d gone.

That afternoon, Clara entered the greenhouse wearing a white linen dress and a silk scarf.

I recognized her immediately.

My brother’s fiancée.

The woman my entire family had spent years trying to impress.

She had no idea who I was.

She smiled warmly.

“Excuse me. Could you help me choose a dogwood tree?”

My hands froze.

“A dogwood?”

“Yes. White blossoms, if possible.”