Page 79 of Time After Time

I’m thrilled she’s letting me feed her.

It’s making this whole interrogation—this unraveling of my pride, this scalpel-sharp exposure—feel just a little easier and softer.

She’s taking care of me, even when I’m the one who’s supposed to be proving something. Even now, when she has every right to walk away, to leave me bleeding on the floor of my own regrets, sheoffers me this small, subtle grace of eating from my hand, as she asks her questions.

It undoes me.

“And Calypso?”

The name slices the air clean in half.

“It was…call it companionship, sex.” I hold up the crêpe to her, and she shakes her head. She’s had enough.

She drinks some of her chocolate. I set the crêpe down on the plate, and pick up my chocolate, which is now no longer piping hot, but still warm and delicious.

“If she wasn’t important, why did you bring her here to be with the family during the holidays? That…Ransom, that indicates you were serious.”

Because I was a dumb fucking fool!

“I know. I thought because I told her this was just a holiday, she’d…anyway, she thought it was more than it was.”

Ember makes a humming sound, as if she’s hearing what I’m saying, and she’snotimpressed.

“I…I thought you wouldn’t be here, but I was…well, I wasn’t sure, and I needed a buffer.”

“What?” she snaps.

I smile at her, feeling more than a little ashamed. “You know, for a man who kept going on about how much older I am, I’ve been acting like a damn teenager. Instead of telling you how I feel, I lied to myself. Pretended I felt nothing. Used another woman like a shield just to protect my own heart.”

She doesn’t respond, just looks at me, waiting. And I know this is the moment. This is real. No half-truths, no filters.

“I met Olivia when I was twenty-eight. She was beautiful, magnetic, and when she walked into a room, everyone noticed her. That…that used to be my type, or so I thought. We were married for six years after dating for two. I thought we were happy, and then I found out she’d been cheating on me. For over a year.” I pause, swallowing down the sour weight of memory. “With someone she met at a conference in London.”

Ember’s eyes widen slightly, but she doesn’t interrupt.

“I didn’t tell anyone at first. Not even my parents. I was ashamed. I kept thinking, I’m a surgeon, I’m not supposed to miss signs. I fix things. I see patterns. And yet…I missed this. I couldn’t fix this.”

I exhale hard, rubbing a hand across my jaw.

“I’ve been running ever since. From anything real. From anyone who could hurt me. Because it turns out, when someone you trust rips your heart out, it doesn’t make you braver—it makes you hide. And that’s what I’ve been doing. Until I saw you again a few days ago, here in Chamonix.”

Her brows knit. “Freja said your marriage ended badly, but she didn’t know the details.”

“Not many do,” I admit. “I never talked about it. I didn’t want pity. I didn’t want people to think I’d lost control of my life. But being here, with you, I realizedI’ve been surviving, not living. Just…passing time. And I don’t want that anymore. I want a life that feels full. A family. A partner. You. Because of who you are, not because of what you represent. Not because of guilt or history, but because you challenge me, inspire me. Because being with you is the only time I’ve ever felt truly at peace and completely alive.”

She shakes her head slowly, her expression wary. “I…it all seems a bit too convenient, Ransom. I…are you saying these things because the family knows now? Because you’re backed into a corner? Trying to…I don’t know, save face?”

The words sting, but I don’t flinch.

“No. I’m saying them because for the first time in years, I’m not scared of feeling them anymore.” Enough is fucking enough. I’ve made mistakes, but not on this one thing. “And your family knows because I told them. My family knows because I told them.”

Her lips twitch. “How did your mother take it?”

She knows my mother, who’s more Freja than Margot—andshe adores Ember.

“There was some talk about a rusty knife and my balls. It’s a good thing they’re in Antarctica for the next several weeks.”

Ember huffs out a short laugh.