You Will Never Suffer Like I Did

POV: Ava Bennett

"Are you sure you want to meet him at the community rink?" Sarah asked as she handed me my car keys across the kitchen counter in my apartment.

"Yes, because that is where everything started between us, and that is where I am going to end it once and for all," I said, taking the keys and stepping toward the front door while grabbing my coat.

"He has been sending red flowers to your office every single morning for three weeks, and he even did that television interview yesterday where he donated his whole game paycheck to local bakeries," Sarah noted, following me out into the hallway.

"Sending flowers and giving money to charity does not erase six years of silence, Sarah, and he only cares now because he knows the entire truth about what Vanessa did," I replied, pressing the button for the elevator and stepping inside.

For three straight weeks, Noah had tried every gesture he could think of to get my attention, calling my assistant fifty times a day, standing outside my office building with umbrella guards in the rain, and releasing public statements to apologize for how he treated me years ago.

I drove across the city in complete silence, pulled my car into the empty parking lot of the community rink where Noah and I used to practice late at night when we were broke, and walked through the doors into the chilly building.

Noah was already standing near the bleachers by the side of the ice, wearing a black jacket, and as soon as he heard my boots clicking on the floor, he turned around and ran over to me.

"Ava, thank you for coming to talk to me, I was so worried you wouldn't show up," Noah said, his voice trembling while he looked down at my face.

"You have ten minutes, Noah, so say whatever you brought me here to say," I said, keeping my hands tucked inside my pockets while looking directly at him.

Noah immediately dropped down on both knees right on the floor in front of me, looking up with tears streaming down his cheeks.

"I am so sorry, Ava, I am so sorry for being a coward, for choosing my contract over you, and for letting Vanessa destroy everything you worked so hard to build," he sobbed, reaching out to grasp the edge of my coat, but I took a step back so his hands fell to his sides.

I looked down at him kneeling on the floor, felt tears rising in my own eyes, and let out a dry laugh that made him flinch.

"Sorry?" I asked, my voice shaking with years of held-back anger.

"Do you really think a simple apology on your knees fixes anything that happened to me, Noah?" I asked, stepping closer so he could hear every single word clearly.

"Ava, I didn't know Vanessa forged those text messages, I swear to you I didn't know she paid those people to ruin your bakery," Noah pleaded, looking up at me with desperate eyes.

"You didn't know because you didn't care enough to ask me for my side of the story, Noah," I told him, wiping a tear off my cheek with the back of my hand.

"Do you know what it feels like to lose your home in a single afternoon because people are throwing red paint at your windows?" I asked, looking directly into his face.

"I am so sorry, Ava, please let me make it up to you," he whispered, dropping his head down toward his hands.

"Do you know what it feels like to watch millions of strangers celebrate your boyfriend proposing to another woman on live television while your whole life falls completely apart?" I continued, my voice growing louder in the rink.

"No, I don't, and I know I failed you completely," Noah said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve while remaining on his knees.

"Do you know what it feels like to stand outside a hotel gala in the rain, begging security guards for just ten minutes to speak with the man you loved for six years, only to have him tell those guards to drag you out to the street like trash?" I asked him, leaning down slightly so he couldn't look away from me.

"I regret that night every single second of my life, Ava," Noah sobbed, his chest heaving as he wept open-mouthed on the floor.

"You'll never suffer the way I suffered, Noah, because no matter what happens to your hockey career, you will still have your money, your fame, and your friends, while I was left with absolutely nothing in a city where nobody believed me," I said, pulling my coat tighter around myself as I turned toward the exit.

"Ava, please don't walk away from me again, give me one chance to earn your forgiveness, even if it takes me the rest of my life," Noah called out from behind me, but he did not get up off the floor to chase after me or grab my arm.

I stopped walking for a split second near the doorway, looked back over my shoulder at the man who had broken my heart so completely, and said, "Some championships can be won twice, Noah, but a broken heart can't," before pushing open the doors and stepping out and leaving him alone on his knees in the empty rink.