Have You Ever

  The town of St. Helena Bay stirred before dawn, a sleepy fishing village where tides set the rhythm of daily life and surnames carried the weight of generations. The Van Zyl's were legends along the West Coast—tough men with calloused hands, loud voices, and unbreakable wills. Of the three brothers, Theo was the star. Eldest, boldest, and revered like the prow of a ship breaking waves. Jasper, the youngest, was all cheek and laughter. And Daniel—the middle child—was the kind of quiet that you only noticed once it was gone. Next door lived Lila Du Toit. Her father was a boat mechanic; her mother, a church organist. She walked barefoot in summer and smelled like lemons and engine oil. In school, she and Daniel shared a desk, trading homework answers and stolen glances. She liked the way he listened, how he spoke with care. But her heart drifted toward Theo, whose swagger burned brighter than the sun bouncing off the tide. Daniel knew. And while he never said a word, the silence ...

  She thought getting even would feel like power. He broke trust like it cost him nothing—so why should she carry the shame alone? She stepped into someone else’s arms with revenge burning hot in her chest, convinced it would level the playing field. For a moment, it almost did. But vengeance doesn’t come wrapped in closure—it came, for her, wrapped in chaos. When he found out, it wasn’t heartbreak that followed. It was something darker. His fury was like a storm she hadn’t expected to weather—loud, violent, merciless. She barely made it out. And that wasn’t a metaphor. She left everything behind: her things, her home, her name whispered through clenched teeth. She walked away because staying would have been the end of her. She thought she’d feel free. Instead, she felt like a ghost of someone who once believed in justice. It took time to realize that what she really wanted wasn’t revenge—it was to matter. To be seen. To be treated like she was worth loyalty, not competition....