Chapter 18
Overnight, everything in the city shifted.
No one could’ve guessed that Sean–who’d once loved Calista so much it hurt–would suddenly turn on her. One minute he was her biggest supporter, the next he was the one driving her to prison himself and making sure every detail of her crimes hit the news.>
Even Bella, all the way over in France, saw the headlines.
She was sitting by an open window at a little café under the plane trees, savoring a rose coffee she’d just ordered. When she first heard about the plane crash–the one she was supposed to be on–she’d felt nothing but relief.”
Thank God she hadn’t boarded. She didn’t even want to imagine the grief her parents and family would’ve gone through if she had. But what she never thought about was how Sean would react.§
To Bella, the Sean she knew now–the one who’d lived another life–didn’t love her anymore. Her death wouldn’t even get a reaction from him. When she’d tried to feel him out, to see if he remembered their past, he’d just deny it over and over.>
Back then, she couldn’t understand why he suddenly stopped loving her, why he seemed like a completely different person. It wasn’t until she moved to France and, by chance, shared her story with a new friend that she finally got it.
Maybe it was hate.
No one could fall in love again, not after being wounded so deeply by the person they loved most. Even Bella, after everything Sean had put her through since her own second chance, had given up on him for good.”
So when she faked her death, she didn’t bother updating her info with the airline. There was no one left who cared about her back home. Dead or alive, it didn’t matter. Even if Sean found out she’d died, she doubted he’d care. He loved Calista now, not her.
Until today, when the news caught up with her.
Everywhere she looked, there were Sean’s tributes–messages to his “late ex–wife“-each word overflowing with the kind of love she thought he’d lost long ago.
Her phone glowed cold in the early morning mist, every line like a rusty blade prying open the box of memories she’d tried so hard to lock away.
A lifetime ago, when Sean loved her, he’d write her a love letter every single day. Back then, every word was full of longing and devotion. She never thought those words could still get to her.
But now, there was no warmth. Only a kind of bitter, twisted irony.
Bella honestly didn’t know what Sean wanted anymore. Didn’t he stop loving her? Otherwise, why deny their past, push her away, and let Calista hurt her again and again?}
Now that she was “dead,” shouldn’t he be happy?}
So why put on this show of regret? Was he sorry for putting her on that flight? Or did her death finally make him realize he Whatever Sean was feeling–regret, guilt, anything–it didn’t matter to her anymore. She’d already given up on him. To Sean, she
e still loved her? for good. Maybe that was for the best.
was gone
With that thought, Bella’s fingers kept scrolling.”
Then she saw another headline that stopped her cold.
“Calista Formally Imprisoned for Assault and Murder.”
The words almost stung her eyes. Her porcelain spoon clinked against her cup, and only then did she realize her hands were shaking. It wasn’t relief or sadness–it was that old hurt, ripped open by the truth she’d waited so long to see.
Memories played in reverse: every time Calista had set her up, every betrayal flashing through her mind before fading away.§
She closed her eyes, took a breath, and then forced herself to put her phone away, shutting down the news app and turning off the
screen.
She’d spent too long letting those wounds bleed. From the day she faked her death, Sean and Calista had nothing to do with her. She didn’t need to care about them anymore. Her life was her own now.
Bella set her phone down, drained her now–cold coffee, and set the cup aside.}
Her phone buzzed again–a reminder. Tonight was the Marshall family dinner.
She pushed the empty cup away and stood, her coat brushing the last sycamore leaf from the window ledge as she moved.
In the glass, her reflection stepped quietly into the sunlight.
