I fought back instinctively.
Bethany’s foot slipped and she started falling toward the water.
I grabbed her hand, holding on tight..
“Hold on!”
Suddenly Bethany went completely calm, staring at me with this strange look.
“MIA! What the fuck are you doing to Beth?!”
Jake came running, immediately blaming me.
That was so typical–his mouth said love, but his actions never matched.
Seeing Jake made Bethany lose it all over again.
“Let’s die together, Mia.”
Bethany grabbed my arm and pulled me down with her.
Hitting the water knocked the wind out of me completely.
Everything went white.
In that moment before drowning, my brain filled with images of Caleb, Mom, and Dylan–all those happy memories from the past few months.
As I lost consciousness, I felt someone grab my hand tight.
When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was Caleb, soaking wet.
“You saved me again.”
Caleb’s face lit up when he saw I was awake.
“Why did you say ‘again“?”
I smiled but didn’t answer.
Jake was standing nearby, also dripping wet,
Next to him was an ambulance,
Bethany was unconscious–the shock and water pressure had hit her harder than me.
“Are they… okay?”
Caleb handed me a dry towel.
“Cover your eyes.”
I obediently covered my eyes with the towel.
The second I couldn’t see, I heard sounds of a fight.
When I lowered the towel, Jake was on the ground with blood on his lip.
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Chapter 8
Caleb walked over and helped me stand up.
“Come on. Let’s go home.”
After that day, Jake camped out in front of our house 24/7.
Rain or shine, day or night.
No matter how many times security kicked him out, or how many beatings Caleb gave him–he kept coming back.
I stood on the third floor balcony looking down at him.
But I felt absolutely nothing.
“Mia… are you… feeling sorry for him? If you want to-”
Caleb stood behind me like a kid who’d done something wrong.
I turned away from the window and smiled at him.
“Caleb, you know why I said you saved me ‘again‘?”
He shook his head.
“Because you saved my ability to love and be loved.”
I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Caleb, I come with a lot of baggage. Scandals, nasty rumors, health problems, a miscarriage. I probably can’t get pregnant again. If any of that
bothers you, push me away now and I’ll go back to calling you my big brother.”
Caleb’s arms wrapped around me without hesitation.
After that, I walked out with an umbrella toward the man kneeling in our driveway.
I didn’t look down at him, just angled the umbrella slightly in his direction.
“Mia, I fucked up. Everything was my fault. Please don’t leave me like this. Come back with me–I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Jake grabbed onto my legs, looking up at me with stubble covering his face, looking completely wrecked.
“It’s too late, Jake. This umbrella only covers one person. How can you split your love between two people? I don’t need you to survive, and I’m not some leftover that nobody wants. Even if nobody wanted me, so what? I’m my own person, not anyone’s accessory.”
My calm tone made Jake even more desperate.
Before, my calmness meant I was being obedient.
Now he could see it meant my love for him was dying.
You only get cold toward people you’re falling out of love with.
“Mia, I swear–I’ll never contact Bethany again. It’ll just be YOU AND ME this time.”
I looked up at Caleb’s silhouette on the third floor balcony and couldn’t help smiling.
“I’m with Caleb now.”
Jake’s hands loosened their grip on my legs.
He stood up and looked me straight in the eye.
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Chapter 8
“MIA! What does he have that I don’t? Why him and not me?”
I took a deep breath.
“Jake, ask yourself this–you always said you loved me, but when did you ever actually choose me? I just realized you probably did love me, but you also loved Bethany, loved your friends, loved everyone. More than loving me, you loved being chased, having people wait for you.”
“And that Olympic wilderness thing–I never want to relive that nightmare.”
Jake looked shocked, hanging his head like he didn’t know what to say.
“And at the river, your first instinct was that I was trying to hurt Bethany. You know what? Gut reactions hurt the most. They hurt me, and they hurt her too. Lucky for me, I don’t love you anymore. I escaped.”
Jake opened his mouth but no words came out. His eyes just got redder, and he looked more broken than ever.
I handed him my umbrella.
“I’m healed now. Don’t rip those wounds open again. And be decent to Bethany while you’re at it.”
With that, I started walking back to the house.
Before I’d taken two steps, another umbrella appeared over my head.
Caleb put his arm around my shoulders.
“Can’t have you getting sick–Dad would kill me.”
I looked at Caleb and burst out laughing.
Behind us, Jake hesitated for a few seconds before finally taking that first step away.
This time, neither of us looked back.
Five Years Later, I was holding my crying daughter, then shoved her at Caleb.
“Take her to Mom or dump her on your dad. Want to sneak out for some late–night food?”
Caleb and I exchanged a look and immediately agreed.
Later, I never saw Jake again.
But sometimes when Mom had her friends over for poker, I’d catch bits of gossip.
Heard that Bethany developed some kind of memory disorder.
She forgot everything about me, only remembers being a teenager following Jake around.
And Jake never got married, never had kids, just take care of Bethany like a little sister.
This time, we’re finally just strangers passing in each other’s stories.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.