It came back to him the day she gave him back the necklace—the old one, the so-called lucky charm from his childhood—something clicked.
Their first real meeting wasn’t that banquet. It was way before. He was just a kid then. She was too.
That was a party, too. His birthday party.
She was terrified—lost in the garden alone.
He saw her from a distance, the little girl in the blue dress standing by the fountain at the start of the birthday party.
But he didn’t say anything at that time, just gave her a tissue and left that pendant behind, told her it’d keep her safe.
But what stuck harder than that was college. The debate.
Rex had dragged him there.
Rex, with his latest crush on some girl from the debate team. Shawn came too, for the laughs.
Riley turns his head, looks through the rain-blurred window. The bar sign glows red against the wet sidewalk this time.He can still hear the low thrum of music leaking through the walls, the chatter, the laughter.But he doesn’t go back in.There’s nothing left to say. Not tonight.Of course, he wants to know more about Amanda, about her trip, about...that guy.But he lost the right to ask a long time ago. Still, another name slips into his mind—Lily Edwards. Shawn’s sister. And Amanda’s friend.He wonders if she’d be willing to talk. About that man. About the things Riley half-heard at the bar. Something about an online store. Something about fragrance?He realizes now—he really didn’t pay attention.He’s just not good at it. Not when love’s involved.His fingers twitch near his phone.Text Lily?Ask?He almost laughs at himself.What would he even say?Hey. It’s Riley. Long time no see. Mind telling me who the guy in her photo is? And what’s up with the perfume thing?No. Stupid.
It came back to him the day she gave him back the necklace—the old one, the so-called lucky charm from his childhood—something clicked.Their first real meeting wasn’t that banquet. It was way before. He was just a kid then. She was too.That was a party, too. His birthday party.She was terrified—lost in the garden alone.He saw her from a distance, the little girl in the blue dress standing by the fountain at the start of the birthday party.But he didn’t say anything at that time, just gave her a tissue and left that pendant behind, told her it’d keep her safe.But what stuck harder than that was college. The debate.Rex had dragged him there.Rex, with his latest crush on some girl from the debate team. Shawn came too, for the laughs.
Amanda never imagined forever with Riley. She never expected anything. Not even a happy ending.But in every moment she looked at him, she gave him her whole heart.She loved him with everything she had, even when she knew it might not lead anywhere.So no, she doesn’t regret loving Riley.Not because he was rich and handsome. Not because he was capable.But because she was brave. Because she had the experience to love one person with her whole heart.She fought to be near him—got into a top university, studied harder than anyone, threw herself into internships and meetings and all the chaos of corporate life.She built herself up. For him. For love.And now—those things, that strength, that experience—no one can take that away from her.So whatever Riley
Tears slip down his face, catching the light in soft glimmers.Amanda stares at them for a while, her chest hollowing out like the air’s been punched from her lungs. The fatigue crashes in, the kind that comes after running too long, too hard.Years of holding in emotions, all the unsaid things—they finally have a reason to spill.“So you can be scared,” she murmurs. “You can cry... like a normal person.”She exhales, almost a laugh. For the first time tonight, Amanda smiles, genuinely.It’s not wide. But it’s real.“You actually look better like this,” she says. “Way better than that perfect version of you everyone’s scared of.”Something shiny catches her eye.A ring.Her heart stutters.
The wind hit the windshield hard, the fallen leaves drawing slow, tired arcs—tick, tick, tick—like a countdown.Amanda stops breathing for a second.She’s never seen Riley like this before. Not the man with all the answers, all the power. This one is messy. Exposed. Human.“I never forget,” he says, softer now. “When I was eleven, at that party at the manor—I saw you first. You were by the fountain. Blue dress. Alone. Like a painting someone forgot to hang.”Amanda blinks. Her heart trips over itself.“The debate competition, you were the leader,” he says, wiping his face with a shaky hand. “The light from the stained glass windows landed right on you. I was standing in the back, just watching.”His voice turns quiet. Almost fragile. “Looking back... I think that was the moment. I j
Amanda has always known that love is uncontrollable.It’s wild. Unknown. It belongs to someone else as much as it belongs to you. It’s smells and touches and words that don’t always come out right.It’s like a storm you have to walk through to reach the mountain on the other side. You have to step outside of everything you are just to hold on to something that isn’t you.That kind of love takes guts. Real courage.And Amanda wasn’t sure if she had that.What’s more, the difference in status between her and Riley was vast. Amanda often felt as though she were gazing up at a snow-covered mountain, unsure if she could ever truly reach the summit.He was handsome, wealthy, and endlessly charismatic.Could she ever be worthy of someone like him? Could she truly adapt to that kind of life?