Chapter 7

My academic performance was never poor; in fact, it was even better than Grace's.

At the time, I could have easily secured a spot in graduate school, but I gave up that opportunity because Grace said she wanted to create the world's most beautiful fireworks.

So, I decided to design my own fireworks.

Taking Jaxon with me, we set out on an inspiration trip.

We arrived in Montana, a place full of rustic charm and natural beauty.

Little did I know that as soon as we reached the bed and breakfast, I'd encounter someone I didn't want to see.

Grace was standing in front of the B&B, holding Melody's hand.

The dark circles under her eyes were evident; she clearly hadn't slept well in days.

Melody was pouting, obviously unhappy.

"Dad, how could you leave for weeks without a word? If Mom hadn't tracked your flight information using your ID, we wouldn't have known you'd snuck off to Montana!"