Chapter 3 A Night of Unspoken Truths

The night air was cool against Ava's flushed skin as she stepped onto the terrace, her heels clicking against the stone. The wedding reception buzzed behind her-laughter, clinking glasses, music drifting through the open doors-but out here, beneath the stars, it felt like another world entirely.

She needed a moment to breathe.

Dancing with Ethan had been a mistake.

His touch, his words-it was too much, too soon. She had spent seven years convincing herself that leaving was the right choice. So why did one dance make her feel like she had never left at all?

The weight of the past pressed against her chest, suffocating her. Ava closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing. It felt as though everything had come rushing back-like the years in between had never existed. The warmth of his hand on her waist, the way he had held her so effortlessly, the way his eyes had searched hers. Every moment with him had been a storm of emotions she wasn't ready to confront.

Her thoughts spun, her heart racing as she stepped farther from the ballroom. She wasn't sure where she was going, only that she needed to get away from him.

A voice cut through her thoughts.

"Running away again?"

Ava's breath caught as she turned.

Ethan stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, his suit jacket now unbuttoned, his tie loosened. The soft glow of the terrace lights highlighted the sharp angles of his face-the same face that had haunted her dreams for years.

"I just needed some air," she said, crossing her arms in an attempt to shield herself from him.

Ethan leaned against the railing, his eyes fixed on her with an unreadable expression. "Right. Air."

His tone, laced with sarcasm, made her stomach tighten. She could hear the quiet anger beneath his words, the hurt that had been simmering for years, and it made her feel small.

Ava exhaled sharply, trying to mask the vulnerability threatening to surface. "Look, Ethan, I didn't come here to start anything. It's Emma's wedding. Let's just-"

"Pretend like none of this happened?" he interrupted, his voice low but firm.

She pressed her lips together, trying to suppress the flood of emotions that his words had unleashed. "Yes. That's exactly what I want. I don't want to talk about this. Not tonight."

Ethan let out a quiet laugh, but there was no humor in it. "That's what you're good at, isn't it? Pretending. Disappearing."

Ava flinched at the sharpness in his voice. "That's not fair."

"Isn't it?" His gaze darkened, his eyes narrowing. "You left, Ava. Without a word. No call, no note-nothing. One day we were making plans, and the next, you were gone."

Her chest tightened, her breath catching in her throat. She knew this moment would come-the moment she'd have to face what she had done. The guilt, the shame, the unanswered questions... they had never stopped haunting her.

"I had my reasons," she said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan's jaw clenched as he took a step closer to her, his eyes locking onto hers with a fierce intensity. "Then why didn't you tell me?"

Ava looked away, her gaze falling to the ground, her hands gripping the cold stone railing in an attempt to steady herself. "Because if I had, you would've tried to stop me."

"Damn right I would've," he said, his voice tinged with frustration. "You were my everything, Ava."

Her breath hitched at the words. Were. Past tense.

The sound of his voice, the depth of his emotions, hit her harder than she had anticipated. She hadn't been prepared for this-to feel like she had never left, to hear the hurt and the longing in his words.

Ethan ran a hand through his hair, exhaling in a sharp, frustrated breath. "Do you know what it was like? Waking up one day and realizing the person you love is just...gone? I couldn't breathe, Ava. I couldn't understand why you'd just disappear without a single word."

Ava closed her eyes, the weight of his pain washing over her. She had wanted to tell him, to explain, to make him understand-but back then, she had been young, scared, and desperate to escape the life she had felt trapped in. She had been too afraid of what he might say, too afraid of being weak.

"You wouldn't have understood," she whispered, her voice trembling.

"Try me," he said, his voice softening, almost pleading.

A silence stretched between them, thick with the things they both wanted to say but couldn't. The years of separation, the wounds that still hadn't healed-everything hung in the air, unspoken, like a cloud between them.

Ava hesitated, her chest tightening. The truth-the real reason she had left-was something she had buried for so long. Could she finally say it out loud? Could she really explain to him what she had been running from?

Ethan sighed, shaking his head as if he had already given up. "You know what? Forget it."

Ava looked up sharply, her heart racing. "What?"

"I spent years wondering why you left. Trying to piece together what I did wrong, what we did wrong. And now, standing here, I realize something."

Her throat tightened. "What?"

His gaze met hers, steady and unreadable, his voice quieter this time. "You don't owe me an explanation. Because if you really cared-if you ever did-you would've given me one back then."

The words cut through her like a blade. His eyes-those eyes that had once held so much love-now reflected only anger and disappointment. And she couldn't blame him.

Her heart cracked. "Ethan-"

But he was already stepping away, his back turned to her. His footsteps echoed in the silence of the terrace, each one a reminder that once again, he was leaving her behind.

And this time, it wasn't her walking away from him.