The tears reached her chin and weren’t slowing. “I love you.” She held me tightly, her whole body now shaking.

I cupped her face, studying a gaze I knew as well as my own. “When I met you in the emergency room, your brown eyes were the only things that gave me hope.” I pressed my nose to hers. “And when I look at you now, that’s all I see.”

“I pray that hope is strong enough to get us through this.”

I kissed her one final time, and in a voice that burned, I said softly, “Good-bye, Whitney.”

She shook her head. “I can’t say that back to you; it hurts too much.”

She gathered her things that Alfred had placed on the curb and stepped toward the terminal. When she was only feet from the door, she turned around, watching me with eyes that watered. Her hand lifted into the air, and she waved, blowing me a kiss before she headed into the entrance.

“Don’t go,” I whispered as she walked through. “Whitney, don’t leave me.”

But she continued, disappearing through the tinted glass.

I backed up until I felt the SUV behind me, my focus never leaving the entrance, waiting for her to come through it and rush into my arms again. I searched the faces of everyone who passed by, hope building each time until I realized they weren’t her.

I didn’t know how long I stayed there, but at some point, I climbed into the backseat and closed the door, my eyes still on the same spot.

“Would you like me to take you home?” Alfred asked.

“In a minute. I want to see if she changes her mind.”

I continued staring.

Hoping.

“Caleb,” Alfred said, “I don’t think she’s coming back.”

I slammed my hand into the seat in front of me, gripping the leather, shaking it. “But I love her, Alfred! I love her, and she’s fucking leaving!” I banged it with my fist. “Goddamn it!” The emotion finally rose above my throat, burning as it fell from my eyes.

Alfred squeezed my arm. “I think she might have left you something on her seat.”

I hadn’t noticed the folded piece of paper with my name written on the front. When I opened it, there was the list of goals she had made when I got out of the hospital. We’d checked off every line, accomplishing each one during our time together.

Except for the item on the bottom that she had added without my knowledge.

Visit Whitney in Peru.

That was the moment when I knew she wasn’t coming back.

“What can I do to help?” Alfred asked.

I swallowed, taking several breaths, and wiped my face. “You can get me the hell out of here.”

“Right away.”