Chapter 14 Two minutes later , the screen of my phone lit up again . Sean had sent a photo . Before it even finished loading , more began to come through . My heart skipped , and I opened them one by one . Each one showed a woman crouched on the beach , crying with her back to the camera . I zoomed in , studying the details . Then , it hit me . The woman in the photos was me . How was that even possible ? That was me two years ago . Back then , I'd found that old photo album Jared kept tucked away in his study . I couldn't take it . Eleanor was gone , but somehow she was still between us . I screamed at him to throw it out , completely hysterical . But he couldn't bring himself to do so . We had an awful fight , and I stormed out , drove to the beach , and stayed there all night by myself . But by morning , I went back to him , hoping he'd take me back . " Were you there that night too ? " I texted . " Yeah . I was out with my friends , " Sean replied . " What happened after ? " I asked . He instantly responded , " I spent the whole night listening to you`vent . " I sent him one of those awkward - face emojis . " Back then , all I could think was - whoever made you cry should've paid for it . " He paused for a second before typing my name . " Willow Clarke . " " Yeah ? " I quickly wrote . " I take back what I said before . I do want you to be my wife , Mrs. Lennon . But more than that , I just want you to stay who you are , " he wrote . What he said stirred something deep in me . Tears welled up , turning the world into a watery blur . I remembered how I'd bent over backward for Jared , shoving my pride aside just to keep him happy , never once considering walking away when everything started to feel off . I'd been lost for so long . It took me three years to find my way back . But at least I made it before it was too late .