Chapter 19

That brief meeting was closure for me. For Rio, his whole world collapsed.

He walked away like he'd lost everything.

Cole must have noticed something was off, but he didn't ask. He talked with me the way he always did, easy, steady.

I couldn't help asking him. "Did you already know?"

Cole looked down at me and smiled. "You mean Rio's fiancée, the one he never stopped talking about? That it was you the whole time?"

"So you did know." I huffed.

He didn't deny it. "I never looked into it. But the two of you started acting strange. The way he looked at you, guilt mixed up with something he couldn't hide, I couldn't think of anyone else that would be about. And you, you kept avoiding him, but not like someone who just hated a guy. Didn't take much to put it together."

He ran his thumb over the back of my hand. "I didn't say anything because it was your call to make. I figured you knew what you wanted."

I tipped my head up, testing him. "And if I'd chosen him? Would you have given us your blessing?"

His face didn't change, but his grip on my hand did.

"No."

"I wouldn't have given you my blessing. And I wouldn't have let you go."

"Because I love you. I couldn't watch you walk away."

The wedding came right on time.

It was massive. Every name that mattered in the family showed up. Gold decorations filled the ballroom from wall to wall.

I walked down the rose-covered aisle in my dress, my arm through Cole's, guests calling out their blessings on both sides.

As we exchanged rings, I heard a voice cut through the crowd, rough and quiet.

"Nina. I hope you're happy."

Rio.

My fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress. My chest tightened, just for a second. I kept my voice low.

"Thank you."

After the wedding, everything settled.

Rio asked for a transfer overseas and never came back.

Before he left, he left me a lot behind.

"This is Rio's," Cole said, handing me a file. "A few properties, and three hundred thousand in savings. Everything he had."

I stayed quiet for a while, then let out a breath and put it all away.

Rio was gone. I was building a life with Cole instead.

Everything before this finally settled, peaceful at last.

(THE END)