Chapter 3

For three months, everyone—including me—thought Blake and I were finally over.

The people who'd bet against us getting back together were ready to pop the champagne.

Then Blake abruptly ended things with Corinne and came back to me.

Corinne showed up at his door looking utterly defeated. "Blake, my life is over without you."

Blake told me to go home first while he sent her away.

That night, he wrapped his arms around me, his breath hot against my ear as he murmured, "Tessa, broken bones take months to heal. I just didn't want to owe her anything. This time doesn't count as breaking the rules. You're the one I'm going to marry."

I stared out the window at the moon hanging quietly in the night sky. "Then let's get married."

He fell silent, rolled over, and went to sleep.

…

The music grew faster, shifting from a waltz into a Viennese waltz. Blake and Corinne spun rapidly across the floor, pressed close together as her skirt flew higher with every turn.

After all these years, she was the first of his month-long girlfriends to make a return appearance.

If I were still water, Corinne would be boiling oil. She always tempted Blake into taking risks, chasing things hidden far beyond his reach.

When the song ended, they looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Blake, you kept your promise! You really came looking for me! You're the one who said you couldn't live without me. I'm just showing you my boundless love."

She playfully punched him in the chest. The movement aggravated his old injury, and he immediately started coughing.

Corinne's eyes reddened as she reached to rub his back, but Blake gently took her hand. Then he dropped to one knee and pulled something from his pocket.

The private room, moments ago loud enough to shake the walls, went so silent you could have heard a pin drop.

Corinne's eyes widened in disbelief as she clapped both hands over her mouth.

Blake opened the box.

Inside was a dazzling ring. The setting evoked a blue sky, its band sweeping around like the arms of a galaxy. Tiny pave diamonds formed a river of stars, while the center stone blazed like the brightest point in the Milky Way.

Everyone seemed to stop breathing.

It was breathtaking, more beautiful than the night sky itself.

"You once took me to see the Milky Way from the top of a snow-covered mountain. Tonight, I brought it down for you."

Corinne nodded through her tears, the enormous diamond scattering them into flashes of rainbow light.

I stared at the ring, unable to speak.

The sheer contrast crushed what little remained of my exhausted heart beyond repair. My stomach suddenly clenched in a violent spasm. I couldn't suppress the nausea.

Laurel looked at me anxiously. "Are you okay?"

My chest and stomach churned so badly I couldn't force out a word.

All I could do was wave her off and brace myself against the wall as I slowly made my way toward the restroom. It hurt so much that my vision began to blur.

Suddenly, I was back one month earlier.

As our anniversary approached, Blake had been unusually restless. More than once, he'd looked like he wanted to tell me something, only to stop himself.

When I finally asked what was going on, he asked me to design a ring for him. The theme was the Milky Way.

I kept my expression calm, but inside, joy exploded through me.

He remembered.

Years ago, while we'd watched the northern lights together, he'd promised that one day, he'd pluck a star from the sky and use it to propose to me.

There wasn't much time.

I didn't let myself stop for a moment. From the first sketches and technical drawings to choosing the materials, polishing the metal, and setting the stones, I handled every detail myself. I refused to compromise on anything, not even the slightest variation in the color of a secondary material.

All that time, I'd been looking forward to him proposing on our anniversary. He'd been eagerly waiting for the chance to hold Corinne again. He'd trampled all over my love, taken our memories and everything I'd poured into that ring, and given it to her.

"Ma'am? Are you all right? Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

The repeated voice beside me slowly pulled me back to consciousness.

I'd fainted. So heartbreak really could make someone pass out.

It felt as though I'd been unconscious for a long time. My entire body was drained. But in reality, only a few breaths and blinks had passed.

I declined the stranger's help, took a deep breath, and headed for the exit.

I couldn't breathe the air in this place for another second.

As I passed the private room, Blake and Corinne were kissing amid everyone's cheers and congratulations.

Corinne held her right hand high, displaying the ring with more pride than the Statue of Liberty holding up her torch.