---- Chapter 20 Ethan waited in his rented car, parked down the street from Mia' s small farmhouse upstate. He' d been watching for days. Learning her routine. She usually came home around six, after picking up her daughter - Lily, he' d learned her name was - from daycare. He felt like a stalker, a creep. He was. He looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror. Haggard. Older. The expensive suit felt like a costume. He saw her car turn onto the dirt road. His heart hammered against his ribs. She got out, then helped a small, dark-haired girl from the backseat. Lily. Mia looked... different. Softer. Happier. She was laughing, a genuine, joyful sound that twisted something in his chest. She was with the doctor. Noah. ---- He was carrying a bag of groceries, an easy, familiar smile on his face as he looked at Mia and Lily. They looked like a family. A real family. Then, Noah leaned down and kissed Mia. Not a passionate, desperate kiss like the ones Ethan had stolen. But a gentle, loving kiss. Full of affection, of shared history. The sight was a physical blow. A raw, animalistic cry ripped from Ethan' s throat. He hadn' t even realized he' d opened his mouth. Mia and Noah startled, turning towards his car. He stumbled out, his legs unsteady. "Mia!" She stared at him, her eyes wide with shock, then a dawning horror. Lily hid behind Mia' s legs, peering out fearfully. Ethan lurched towards them, his mind a maelstrom of pain and desperation He grabbed Mia' s arm. "Mia, you have to listen to me! ---- Noah stepped between them, his arm protectively around Mia. "Let her go, Cole." "You stay out of this!" Ethan snarled, his possessive anger flaring. "She' s with me!" Mia pulled her arm free, her eyes blazing. "l am not with you, Ethan! Not anymore!" She held up her left hand. A simple, elegant ring sparkled on her finger. The engagement ring. The one Noah had given her. The sight of it was like a stake through Ethan' s heart. Final. Irrevocable. "What... what is this?" he stammered, his voice cracking. "This is my life, Ethan," Mia said, her voice trembling but firm. "My family. Something you know nothing about." "Why are you here?" she demanded, her anger palpable. "After everything? Haven' t you done enough?" Ethan struggled for words. "I... | came to apologize. To make things right. Isabella... she' s gone. | took care of everything." He reached for her again. Noah blocked him. "She doesn' t want to talk to you." ---- Ethan shoved him. "Get out of my way!" Noah stumbled but regained his footing, his expression calm but resolute. "You need to leave, Mr. Cole. Now." "You think you can protect her from me?" Ethan raged, his carefully constructed composure shattering. "I protected her! For years! From herself, from the world! She owes me!" Mia stepped forward, her eyes flashing. "Owe you? You, who humiliated me, used me, let your fiancée torture me? You, who stood by and watched while my dreams were destroyed?" Her words were like slaps, each one a reminder of his cruelty. Noah pulled out his phone. "I'm recording this, Cole. Every word. Every threat. Assault, harassment, trespassing... | think the local sheriff would be very interested." Ethan stared at the phone, then at Noah' s calm, determined face. Disbelief warred with a dawning, sickening realization. He had no power here. "You wouldn' t," Ethan whispered. "Try me," Noah said, his voice even. Mia took Noah' s hand, her fingers lacing with his. A silent, definitive statement. ---- She turned to walk towards the house, pulling Lily with her. "Mia, wait!" Ethan dropped to his knees on the dusty road, the fight draining out of him. "Please," he begged, his voice hoarse. "Forgive me. I' m so sorry. | love you, Mia. | always have." Mia paused at the porch steps, her back to him. She didn' t turn around. "Some things can' t be forgiven, Ethan," she said, her voice quiet but carrying clearly in the still evening air. "Some things can't be undone." Then she walked into the house, Noah and Lily beside her, and closed the door. Leaving him kneeling in the dust, alone with his regret.