The rain had started again, a soft drizzle that painted the city in silver streaks, as if even the sky was holding its breath.
Ava clutched her coat tighter around her shoulders as she stepped out of Liam's school event, her heels clicking against the pavement. It had been a quiet day—too quiet. Ethan had been called away on a business trip, and for once, Claudia had gone silent.
But she should have known the peace wouldn't last.
Victoria was waiting by the car.
Elegant as ever in a blood-red coat and heels too high for comfort, she leaned against the black sedan like she belonged there. Her eyes were cold, lips curved in a smile too precise to be sincere.
Ava's steps slowed.
"What do you want, Victoria?"
Victoria straightened, smoothing a gloved hand over her sleek hair. "Just tying up loose ends."
Ava arched a brow. "What kind of ends?"
"This kind," Victoria said—and held up a weathered, cream-colored envelope.
Ava's breath caught.
Victoria twirled it in her fingers like it was a game. "Recognize the handwriting?"
Ava's world tilted.
It was hers.
No—it couldn't be.
"That letter was meant for Ethan," Victoria said casually. "Found it tucked away in Claudia's files while helping plan the engagement press kit. You must've poured your heart into it. Too bad he never saw it."
The blood drained from Ava's face.
"How did you—?"
"Oh, come on, Ava. Did you really think Claudia was the only villain in this story?" Victoria stepped closer. "She didn't destroy it. She just hid it. And now... you're going to do exactly what I say."
Ava's voice was a whisper. "What do you want?"
Victoria leaned in, eyes glittering. "I want you gone. For good. Before Ethan learns just how deep your secrets really run. Or would you prefer I hand this letter to the press? It's quite the sob story."
Ava's hand curled into a fist, her heart pounding. She thought she'd run out of tears, out of fight.
But she hadn't.
Not this time.
She took a slow step forward, fire in her gaze. "Give me the letter."
Victoria smiled. "Oh, sweetheart. You're not in the position to demand anything."
But Ava's voice didn't shake. "I said, give me the letter."
Victoria hesitated—just long enough.
Ava snatched it from her hand.
Their eyes locked, electricity sparking between them.
Victoria's mask cracked just slightly. "He'll never choose you."
Ava looked down at the envelope, at her younger self's desperate handwriting. And then back up.
"He already did. You just haven't realized it yet."
She turned and walked away, heart racing, past the car, past the rain, past every fear she'd let Victoria and Claudia plant inside her.
She had the letter now.
And Ethan would finally know everything.
Ethan's hands dropped to his sides, the letter still clutched between his fingers. He stared at Ava, his breath uneven, as if the truth had knocked the wind out of him.
"You thought I didn't want you," he said quietly. "You thought I knew and didn't care?"
Ava's throat tightened. "What else was I supposed to believe? Your mother told me you wanted nothing to do with me. That I was a phase… a mistake."
His eyes flared. "She said that to you?"
"She made sure I believed it," Ava whispered. "I begged her to let me talk to you. She told me I'd ruin your life. That I should disappear before I became a stain on your future. And when I tried to reach out again… she was already gone. Your number changed. Your emails bounced. I didn't have the strength to fight a war I'd already lost."
Ethan ran a hand down his face, grief and fury twisting his expression. "I would've burned down the world to find you."
Ava looked up at him, eyes shimmering. "Then why didn't you?"
His silence was sharp.
"I searched," he said finally. "But I was young, and broken, and angry. I didn't know who to believe. And when time passed… I convinced myself you'd moved on."
She took a slow breath. "We both did. In our own ways."
He took a step closer, his voice rough. "But I never forgot. I buried you under work, women, noise. And none of it mattered. You were always the echo."
Her lips parted, but she didn't move as he reached out—softly brushing a damp strand of hair from her face.
"I want to know him," Ethan said suddenly. "Liam."
The name cracked the air between them.
Ava froze, breath caught.
"I want to earn that right," he said. "I want to be the man who shows up. For him. For you, if you'll let me. Not because of guilt, or the past. But because I'm still in love with the woman who wrote that letter."
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Ethan…"
"I'm not asking you to forgive me tonight. Or forget everything that's happened. But I'm asking you this—don't shut the door. Not yet."
Ava stood still, the storm inside her heart louder than the one thundering outside.
Then she reached forward.
Slow. Deliberate.
She placed her hand over his heart.
And for the first time in years, it beat steady beneath her touch.
"I won't shut the door," she whispered. "But if we're going to do this… we start with the truth. No more lies. No more silence."
Ethan nodded, something soft and shattered in his eyes.
And as the rain finally began to ease, so did the distance between them.