I consider Anna’s words, biting down on my thumbnail.

Would Harley really want to see me? After everything I’ve done, I have no doubt that he hates me. But he owns my heart, and I can’t give up on my heart. This could be my only chance to truly tell him how I feel. I have to try. I can’t lose him without at least trying, first.

Taking a deep breath, I feel more conflicted than ever.

***

I stare at my reflection for what feels like forever.

Considering I’d raced home and gotten ready in less than an hour, the mirror presents an image I don’t immediately hate. Dressed in a tea-length, red satin dress with a full skirt, teamed with royal blue heels and a matching clutch purse, I somehow managed to wrangle my wayward hair into a messy bun that contradicts the perfection of the dress but seems to work. With my makeup left to a minimum, I didn’t want to take away from the striking dress I’d been keeping in the back of my closet for a moment like this. And, as I look at the girl in the mirror’s glass, I still can’t believe I’m about to watch on as Nash marries a woman who isn’t me.

And, in that moment, my mind flashes back through the years, and our most precious memories play through my head. I remember the first time I heard him laugh. Really laugh. He’d been covered in bruises his horrible father had given him; a black eye, a split lip, he was in so much pain both inside and out. But I’d said something—I can’t even remember what it was—I don’t even think I meant for it to be funny but, for whatever reason, he found it to be the funniest thing he’d ever heard, and he roared with laughter. It was a sound like nothing I’d ever heard before: throaty yet high-pitched, not dissimilar to a hyena. And I smiled, watching his head fall back in hysterics, knowing that it was me who’d just made him laugh like that when he was clearly in so much physical and emotional pain, and I knew it was a sound I’d cherish for the rest of my life.

I remember the first time he’d looked at me in a way I’d never been looked at before. The way it made my heart feel as if it had actually skipped a beat. The way he’d stolen my breath away with just one look. The way he’d made me feel like I was the only other person in the entire world. I remember our first hug, our first kiss, our first everything, and I’m so thankful I got to experience so many firsts with him.

But those memories, they’re past. And I know now that Nash isn’t my future, and I’m okay with that. Exhaling a shaky breath, I manage a smile despite the raw emotion overwhelming me. It’s time to let go. I’m the luckiest woman to have had Nash in my life, but it’s time to move on from what was, time to say goodbye to what will never be again.