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The woman I loved, the woman I’d intended to marry, had just walked away from me, and she’d done it without giving me a single word of explanation.

Her unexpected response—that she couldn’t marry me—had left me so stunned, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to react at all. I merely stayed there, down on one knee, watching as she ran in the opposite direction, away from me.

And for a brief moment, she’d given me one small spark of hope when she stopped and turned to look back at me. I stayed there, barely breathing, and praying she’d had a change of heart.

Maybe this had felt like too much of a surprise for her, but as she ran away, it hit her that she still loved me, that she still wanted to be with me.

It seemed like an eternity had passed as we stared at one another from the distance. I couldn’t make out what was in her expression from the distance, but I wanted to say I sensed longing.

That could have merely been wishful thinking, though.

I wondered what Layla thought as she looked at me. Did she know how utterly disillusioned I felt? Did she understand the hurt and disappointment I felt? Did she care that I was beyond humiliated?

Come back,I thought.Please, come back.

Almost as soon as I could hear those words in my head, Layla made her decision final, ripping my heart to shreds as she turned and took off running again.

A rush of air left my lungs, and my gaze dropped to the ground. My insides shuddered as I tried to make sense of what had just happened.

This was us.

Liam and Layla.

Where had things gone wrong?

To walk away like that, to not even offer any kind of explanation, felt cruel. Had I made this all up in my head? Did she even love me?

This couldn’t be happening. It had to be some vicious joke.

Everything went numb, an overwhelming heaviness in my chest and limbs being all I could sense.

Memories from nearly four years with her swam through my mind. All of them were happy memories filled with laughter and fun and excitement. Memories filled with hope and promise.

Nothing.

Not one single moment had indicated there was anything to be worried about. Layla hadn’t shown me any signs of being unhappy with me.

Had she been hiding something, or had I been so caught up in how much I wanted a future with her that I was blind to what was right in front of me?

I wracked my brain for answers, but it was only the uneasiness I’d witnessed from her tonight that suggested anything was wrong.

What was I going to do now?

God, I’d been such an idiot. My ego had gotten in the way and allowed me to be so confident about this, so thrilled to start the rest of my life, that I hadn’t hidden my plans from anyone who mattered.

My parents, brothers, and sisters all knew that I’d purchased a ring and planned to propose to Laylatonight. While I didn’t think they’d ever go out of their way to make me feel bad about this, it didn’t lessen my mortification.

If someone walked up to me now, I didn’t doubt they’d see that embarrassment in my flushed face and weak posture.

I fell to my ass on the ground, brought my knees to my chest, and draped my arms over them as I hung my head forward, trying to breathe through the pain. Pain that clung to every muscle, bone, and fiber of my being.

For a long time, I sat there.

Not planning, not moving, not even thinking.

I simply gave in to the numbness and pain and allowed it to consume me. My eyes focused on the blades of thick green grass beneath me, noting the way some blades tangled with others or how they moved when a gentle breeze blew past.

Eventually, my thoughts drifted back to Layla and what I was going to do. Something kept me where I was, unable to leave. I decided I’d probably waited so long, because there was one small part of me that had been hoping Layla might return. If I stayed in the last place she saw me, she’d know where to come back and find me.