Chapter 60: : Chapter 60

I stare at the beautiful sunset across the Grand Canal in Venice, my heart aching as I think back to that long weekend with Archer, when he took me on one of the gondolas and made one of my biggest dreams come true. I thought time would dull the pain, but it hasn’t.

I still miss him with every heartbeat, and every single one of my paintings still contains pieces of him, of us. I can’t let him go, no matter how hard I try. The mere thought of going back home and facing him fills me with dread. I’m not ready to see him treat Tyra with so much care, no matter how much I love her. It’d destroy me, but I can’t stay away much longer either. My dad has started to worry, and Theo has begun calling me multiple times a day to check in with me. I can’t keep running forever, but God, I wish I could.

“Serenity?”

I turn around at the sound of a familiar voice, my eyes widening when I find Tyra standing behind me, her eyes lit up with affection as I stare at her in disbelief. “Ty?” I mutter, dazed.

“Surprise!” she says, sounding positively giddy as she grabs my hand before briefly looking over her shoulder at Ezra, who’s standing a few paces away, his phone in his hands.

I instantly begin to search for Archer, disappointment washing over me when I don’t find him anywhere. “Ezra agreed to accompany me,” she tells me, squeezing my hand. “I’m here to bring you home.”

She looks so much more full of life now. I’d noticed it over video, but seeing it in person is surreal. It’s odd how bittersweet it is to see her doing so well. It proves that walking away was the right thing to do, and a small part of me was hoping that I’d been wrong when I made that decision.

“You came all the way here just to take me home?” I ask, shell-shocked.

She laughs and entwines our fingers before pulling me along. “I told you over the phone, didn’t I? I told you that if you didn’t come home, I’d come get you myself.”

“I thought you were joking,” I tell her, my voice trembling. I can hardly believe that she’s really here and that she’s leading me to a car that’s waiting for us.

“You should’ve known better,” Ezra says, smiling at me sweetly. “If you’d just listened to her, she wouldn’t have dragged me all the way here.”

His expression is entirely at odds with his words, and he looks at her like he’d go to the ends of the world for her simply because she asked. I watch them as he helps her with her seat belt, dozens of questions on the tip of my tongue that I don’t dare ask.

Does Archer know they’re here? Does he want me to come back at all, or would he prefer not to face me? I can’t stand the idea of going back home and seeing him look at me with regret when he’s the best thing that ever happened to me.

“We already collected your luggage from the hotel. We’re flying straight home,” Tyra says, her tone resolute.

I begin to protest, but she shuts me up with a look. “You’ve stayed away long enough, Serenity.”

“Tyra,” I begin to say, but she shakes her head.

“There’s somewhere I want to take you, something I want to show you, and if after that, you still want to be here, I won’t say a word. I won’t stop you. But please, just do this one thing for me, Ser.”

I look into her eyes, wishing I could tell her how much I’ve already done for her and knowing that I can’t. What I did was make amends for my sins. I never should’ve fallen for the man she loves, never should’ve even added his name to my list, and I’m paying for it now.

“Come on,” she says as she leads me onto the private jet that Ezra and Archer share, her familiarity with it making me uncomfortable. This is why I didn’t want to go home—because I’ll have to watch her retake her rightful place in Archer’s life, and it’ll destroy me to know she’s got everything I’ve ever wanted. I’m scared I’ll end up resenting her or that I’ll slip up and say the wrong thing, causing her pain she absolutely doesn’t deserve.

It’s all I can think about the entire flight home, and I can’t see a way out. I can’t be the person she needs me to be. Not yet. Not while I’m still in love with the one man I can’t be with.

My thoughts are still on Archer as I’m led into another car upon arrival, dread coursing through my body. I’m scared that seeing Archer will push me into another downward spiral, just like when I left. For the first few weeks, I barely ate or slept, spending every second painting in an attempt to dull the pain. I can’t go through that again, not now that I’ve finally managed to pull myself out of it.

“We’re here,” Tyra says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I’d been so absent-minded that I didn’t pay any attention to where we were going, and the moment I realize where she took me, my entire body tenses.

“Tyra,” I murmur, my voice trembling, pure trepidation coursing through me. Why here? Why now?

“Please,” she murmurs, reaching for my hand. “Give me ten minutes of your time. I know I’ve already asked for a lot, but please, Ser…please just hear me out.”

I’m sick to my stomach as she leads me to the same vantage point where Archer and I decided to start dating officially, and my heart begins to hammer in my chest when my painting comes into view, a man standing in front of it.

I’d recognize him anywhere—the contours of his shoulders, the way his suit fits, and the way his hair is just a little wavy. He turns, and I stop in my tracks, unable to school my features. Similarly, he looks at me the way he used to, like he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing. He drinks me in, pure longing in his eyes.

“Thanks for coming,” Ezra says, sounding apologetic.

“You said it was an emergency,” Archer says, unable to tear his eyes off me, his tone conveying his confusion. “You said we needed to talk. What’s going on here?”

I watch as Ezra moves to stand by Tyra’s side, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as they look at each other, something passing between them. Tyra takes a deep breath, and Ezra tightens his grip on her, pulling her a little closer.

“I told you there’s something I needed to show you, didn’t I?” she says, addressing me.

I nod, and she gestures at my painting. I take a step closer, my eyes widening when I realize that it’s been amended. It’s been done masterfully, and the changes are minuscule, but they’re there.

The red thread I painted no longer connects Archer to her, and tears begin to fill my eyes when I realize it now connects him to me. The scissors are gone, replaced by a bunch of red tulips, and most notably, Archer’s expression isn’t what I painted. Instead of longing, he now looks back with friendly fondness.

She pushes away from Ezra and walks up to Archer, grabbing his hand before leading him to me and reaching for mine. Tyra looks up at Archer with so much love that I can’t stand to look at her without guilt tearing me up. “You ended things with me before everything happened because you knew we weren’t right for each other, but I wasn’t ready to admit it. I wasn’t ready to let go of the idea of us, even if holding on hurt you more than I ever intended. I clung to you stubbornly and refused to acknowledge how much my actions were hurting you, and I…”

She turns to look at me then. “I’m not proud of the way I’ve behaved, Ser. I’ve known about you two for a few weeks now, but I pretended not to because I couldn’t deal with the thought of not having Archer by my side when I needed him more than anything. I stood back and watched you two put me first, sacrificing your own happiness for mine. I stayed silent as guilt and heartache tore you apart because I couldn’t cope with the idea of things changing and I desperately wanted normalcy and the life I left behind. He wasn’t mine, Serenity. You didn’t take anything from me, and there’s nothing for you to feel guilty about. If anyone is to blame here, it’s me.” She glances at Ezra, their eyes locking for a moment before she turns back to me. “It took me a while to acknowledge that I can’t regain what I’ve lost and that if I tried to, I’d just lose more in the progress. If not for Ezra…”

She bites down on her lip as she places my hand in Archer’s, a tear running down her face. Her eyes fall closed for a moment, and then she looks at me, a shaky smile on her face. “Please do what I never could and make him happy. Please bring back his smile and let him return yours. Please don’t let anyone deprive you of your happiness—not even me. And please…please forgive me.”