---- Chapter 18 Chloe's apology was sincere, heartfelt. She confessed her own past manipulations in her relationship with Ethan, the games she'd played, acknowledging the toxic dynamic they'd shared even before her amnesia. She owned her part in the pain, however unwitting her recent role had been. Ava listened, and when Chloe was finished, she simply nodded. "| accept your apology, Chloe." Her voice was calm, devoid of lingering resentment. There was no satisfaction in Chloe's pain, only a quiet sense of closure. Liam, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, stepped forward. "Chloe, | think it's time for you to go. Ava needs her rest." His tone was polite but firm, a clear dismissal. Chloe nodded, wiping her eyes. She stood up, looking from Ava to Liam. ... | wish you both happiness. Truly." She turned and left, a fragile, broken figure, but one, perhaps, on the path to her own healing. The next day, Chloe confronted Ethan. She found him at his desolate Tribeca loft. She threw a bag at his feet. It contained the expensive gifts he'd lavished on her during her amnesia, the diamond tennis bracelet, the designer clothes. "Take it back, Ethan," she said, her voice cold, clear. "| don't want any of it. It's all tainted by your lies." "Chloe..." Ethan began, a flicker of hope in his eyes. Maybe this ---- was his chance... "Don't," she cut him off. "| remember everything now. Everything you did. How you used me. How you lied to Ava, to your family, to everyone." "| did it because | loved you!" Ethan protested, falling back on his old excuse. "l wanted us to have a second chance!" "Loved me?" Chloe laughed, a bitter, humorless sound. "Or loved the idea of me? The girl from your past you could control? You didn't love me, Ethan. You don't know how to love anyone but yourself." "That's not true!" he argued, but his voice lacked conviction. "The woman whose wedding you canceled," Chloe continued, her voice rising with righteous anger. "You made her pretend to be your brother's fiancée. You made her watch you parade me around. You made her call me 'sis'! That's not love, Ethan. That's cruelty. That's sick." She looked at him with a mixture of pity and disgust. "You lost Ava because of your own actions. She married your brother because you threw her away. You have no one to blame but yourself." She turned to leave. "Wait!" Ethan cried, desperation clawing at him. He looked past Chloe, as if expecting to see Ava standing there, ready to forgive him, to take him back now that Chloe was "out of the way." "Ava?" he called out, his voice hopeful. "Ava, it's over now! Chloe knows! We can be together!" Chloe just shook her head sadly. "She's not here, Ethan. She's ---- moved on. She's happy. Something you'll never be, as long as you keep living in your self-made delusions." She walked out, leaving Ethan alone in his perfectly restored, utterly empty apartment. He sank onto the sofa, the weight of his isolation crushing him. A few days later, he went to the brownstone. Ava answered the door. "Ava," he began, his voice pleading. "Chloe's gone. She remembers everything. It's over with her. Now it can be us again. Like it was always meant to be. | was wrong. | was a fool. Please, Ava. Give me another chance." He reached for her. Ava slapped him. Hard. The sound echoed in the quiet hallway. "There is no 'us,' Ethan," she said, her voice like ice. "There never really was, was there? Not in the way that mattered. | am Mrs. Liam Carter. You should try calling me that. If you ever speak to me again. Which | sincerely hope you don't." She closed the door in his face.