Chapter 4

Ashton drove away, leaving a rush of hot air in his wake.

Almost instinctively, I pressed a hand to my chest.

That was when I realized that something was missing. My neck was bare.

I'd worn that pendant every day for the past six years.

Ashton had made it for me when we'd first started dating. I'd come down with a bad case of the flu, and he'd personally chosen the stone, then carved the pendant by hand.

Back then, he'd moved everything he could out of the office and worked from home just so he wouldn't have to leave me alone.

I'd teased him about it. "It's just the flu. You don't have to worry this much."

Ashton had wrapped his arms around me and shaken his head. "I just need to know you're okay. I can't stand seeing you sick. It hurts more than anything you could ever do to me."

By the time I reached the hospital, I found Ashton carefully fastening that same pendant around Winnie's neck.

"We can't do this," Winnie said through her tears. "Annie saved my life. I can't do something that would hurt her."

Ashton pulled Winnie into his arms. "You're too kind for your own good. Can't you think about yourself for once?"

Winnie didn't answer.

Ashton gently rubbed her back. "I've already transferred the house into your name. Everything inside was designed exactly the way you wanted, down to the finishes and materials. I'm leaving with Annie. There's a chance we may never see each other again."

Winnie clung to him more tightly. And Ashton held her just as close.

In the fading evening light, they stayed wrapped around each other as if they were the ones being forced apart.

Looking at them, I almost wanted to laugh.

Somehow, I'd become the villain standing between two people who were clearly meant to be together.

Ashton never stopped telling me he loved me. And yet, without even asking me, he'd given away our home.

"If this really is the last time we're ever going to see each other… Could we take a wedding portrait together? Just one. Something I can keep and pretend, for a little while, that I got to marry you."

Ashton looked at her. "Do you want to wear a wedding dress?"

Hope instantly crept into Winnie's voice. "Could I really? But it's too late. Every bridal shop will be closed by now."

"Annie already brought hers back home. If you don't mind wearing her dress, you can use that."

Then, Ashton added quietly, "As long as she never finds out."

He got to his feet and picked up his car keys from the nightstand.

I immediately slipped around the corner, staying out of sight as I watched him walk toward the exit.

Step by step, he disappeared through the doors. He went one way. I turned around and walked the other way.

On the way to the airport, I called Martha Cowen, our housekeeper. "Martha, could you pack up my wedding dress for me? And leave a note on top, exactly the way I told you. I've already transferred your last paycheck. After tonight, you don't need to come back."

She'd known about my plans from the beginning. I didn't need to explain anything else.

Not long after we hung up, she sent me a photo.

Everything was ready.

By the time Ashton rushed home, the wedding dress was lying neatly inside its box, with a note resting on top.

The house was silent.

"Annie?" he called out. But no one answered.

Something in his chest tightened.

His heart began to pound as he walked toward the box, one slow step at a time.

Then he saw what was written on the note. His eyes widened.