And she let herself remember.
She was back in the garage, and she looked like the happiest girl in the world.
Yes. I'll marry you.
She saw Ethan in her mind, remembered vividly how his handsome face had turned rigid for a moment—-
(Almost as if)
She remembered how his kiss, when he had taken her in his arms, had tasted so heartbreakingly sweet—-
(Almost as if)
She remembered how long - oh, how so very long - it took him to slide the ring down her finger, because his own hands had been shaking so bad—-
(Almost as if)
Anah forced her eyes open. No. She closed her book. You're only imagining things, Anah. Another teardrop fell, splashing against the matte cover of her book, but she refused to let it weaken her.
She just wasn't used to being this happy, that was all. So her mind had started imagining stupid things. Ethan was not the type to have cold feet, and if he had...then why had he been so insistent on having Anah herself open his glovebox?
He wanted to marry her.
Because he loved her.
So it's going to be fine, Anah told herself. There's nothing to fix—-
"Anah..."
The sudden sound of his voice had her stomach cramping for no reason, and she had to draw a quick, fortifying breath before turning to face him. "Yup?" She noticed right away that Ethan hadn't turned to meet her gaze, and the oddness of it made her heart lurch.
(Almost as if)
"I love you."
And Anah wanted to cry.
Those words were all she had ever dreamt of hearing.
So...why...why didn't it suddenly feel right to hear them?
"I love you, Anah."
Ethan didn't even realize he had been holding his breath until he felt Anah's head rest against his shoulder.
"I love you." She squeezed her eyes shut. It's going to be fine. There's nothing to fix. You're not going to lose him.
Another shuddering breath rocked his body as he heard Anah say the words—-
It's going to be fine.
Words that he didn't deserve-—
You can still fix this.
And because of that, they were still words she could still take back.
You're not going to lose her.
ANAH KEPT WAVING GOODBYE until Ethan's pick-up had rounded the corner and disappeared from view. Then and only then did she let her smile fade and reach for her phone.
It's going to be fine.
She had received an email late last night from Guilia.
There's nothing to fix.
And since then, she had been filled with fear, wondering what was the right thing to do, if the message were to reveal that Guilia had decided to change for good, and she wanted Ethan back.
You're not going to lose him.
She tapped on the screen to start reading Guilia's email.
And a moment later, she was laughing and crying.
Because she had been right all along.
And she hadn't been imagining things last night when Ethan appeared stunned...almost as if...
Anah's phone slipped through her fingers.
Almost as if the ring wasn't meant for her.
Chapter Eighteen
The restaurant was empty save for one table, and Ethan had risen to his feet by the time Guilia reached him. "I'm guessing this is one of your properties?" Even the classiest restaurants could be bribed into tattling about their guests, and more so when that guest happened to be the world's most notorious supermodel.
"Company property."
The polite brevity of Ethan's voice caught Guilia off guard, and the smile on her lips faltered. "You've changed," she blurted out.
Instead of answering, Ethan pulled a chair out for her, and she sank down on it without a word. He had changed. The words echoed in her mind endlessly as she watched him take a seat opposite her. He was still beautiful, still sexy, but his eyes...
"Ethan..."
His hazel eyes met hers without hesitation, and it was like seeing her world disintegrate. He can't see me anymore, she thought wildly. It's over. It's over. Over!
Ethan watched the play of emotions on Guilia's face with a disconcerting sense of disattachment. Did she know that she had revealed more of her thoughts in the past five seconds compared to all the years they had been together?
Guilia's sharp nails dug into her palms. "I'm too late, aren't I?"
"It was over between us for a long time," Ethan said evenly. "And I think you knew that well before I did."
Guilia couldn't help lifting her chin even as guilt colored her cheeks. "We were happy—-"
"For a time."
"I know I made a lot of mistakes," she burst out, "but I promise I'm going to change—-"
"Guilia—-"
Something inside her snapped at the way he said her name—-
Like her name was just any other name—-
Guilia grabbed the wineglass and smashed it against the table.
Ethan shot to his feet. "Goddammit, Guilia—-"
She held the jagged stem of the wineglass to her wrist. "If y-you leave me, I'll kill myself—-" Her voice broke off when she saw the look in his eyes.
Anger and disgust, she would've expected.
But not this.
Not this sorrow—-
This kind of sorrow that told her, oh God...
This sorrow could only be possible if he already knew—-
"You know the truth," Guilia cried out. "Don't you?"
"You told me yourself," Ethan said heavily.
"Liar!" Guilia could feel herself starting to shake, and she threw the shard of glass away. "I would never have—-"
"You were in the hospital for several days after the accident. You were delirious, and you told me what happened."
Ethan really knew.
"You told me you'd kill yourself if I ever found out the truth—-"
Ethan knew everything.
"And that you believed I would never be able to love you—-"
But he had.
"If I knew the truth..."
And yet he had.
"But I was wrong," Guilia choked out. "W-Wasn't I?"
"Yes."
The pain nearly drove her to madness. "You still loved me..."
"I did."
"Even though you knew the truth..."
"Yes."
"But now, I'm too late."
Ethan didn't need to answer. The way Guilia was crying told him she already knew, and as he watched her shoulders shake, it was as if he was seeing pieces of his life fall into place.
He might have
