---- Chapter 23 23 Ethan didn't give up. Not completely. He dedicated himself to winning me back. Or so he thought. He believed, with the arrogance that was so intrinsically him, that he still had a chance. A few weeks after the awards gala, he showed up at the New Leaf Designs office in Austin. Sarah saw him first. She came into my office, her expression a mixture of annoyance and concern. "Ava. You have a visitor. An unwelcome one." | knew, before she even said his name. Ethan. He was waiting in our small reception area, holding a ridiculously large bouquet of white roses. Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Persistent, isn't he?" "Delusional," | corrected. | walked out to meet him. He stood up when he saw me, his eyes lighting up with that familiar, desperate hope. "Ava." "Ethan. What are you doing here?" "l came to see you. To talk. To apologize. Properly this time." ---- | sighed. "There's nothing to apologize for anymore, Ethan. It's done. We're divorced. I've moved on." "But | haven't," he said, his voice raw. "| love you, Ava.| was a fool. A blind, arrogant fool. But | see clearly now. | see you." | looked at him. At the expensive suit, the desperate eyes, the wilting flowers. And | felt... nothing. No anger. No pain. Not even pity. Just a vast, empty indifference. He was a stranger to me now. A relic from a painful past. Liam came out of his office then. He saw Ethan. Saw the flowers. He walked over to me, casually slipping his arm around my waist. He smiled at Ethan, a polite but firm smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Can we help you, Mr. Cole?" Ethan's gaze dropped to Liam's arm around my waist. His face fell. "|... [just wanted to talk to Ava." "Ava's busy," Liam said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "We both are." He looked at me, his eyes soft. "Ready for that site visit, partner?" | smiled back at him, a genuine, happy smile. "Absolutely." ---- | leaned in and kissed him. A soft, tender kiss that spoke of love, of trust, of a shared future. A future that did not, would not, include Ethan Cole. When we pulled apart, Ethan was still standing there. Frozen. His face was ashen. The flowers had slipped from his grasp, scattering on the floor. He looked at me, at my radiant happiness. A happiness he had never seen, never known how to inspire. He looked at Liam, at the easy intimacy between us. And finally, finally, he understood. It was truly over. He had lost. Completely. Irrevocably. He turned, without a word, and walked out of our office. Out of my life. He left the expensive bouquet of white roses scattered on the floor. Later, Sarah picked them up. "Well," she said, arranging them in a vase. "At least he has good taste in flowers." Liam and | exchanged a smile The roses looked beautiful in our sunny office. A symbol not of a lost love, but of a new beginning. My new beginning. With Liam. And with New Leaf Designs. ---- My life, finally, wonderfully, my own.