Chapter 178 Autumn’s POV

Chapter 178 Autumn’s POV
Jared stood in the doorway, his chest heaving, his dark eyes filled with fury that made the floor beneath my feet feel unstable. The sight of him sent a chaotic wave of terror straight through my veins, "Ja–Jared..." I whispered, my voice breaking as I shrank back against the side of the armchair, "how... How did you find me?"

"You left some of your things in my place," he said, his voice very low, "and this letter..." he let out a harsh scoff that shook me completely. He took a heavy step into the room, shutting the door behind him, the loud thud startled me slightly. "Did you really think a sixty minute flight was going to stop me? Did you honestly think I'd just read this—"

He held up the crumpled piece of paper, his knuckles white, "and go... oh well, she left a note, guess I'll just let her go?"

"Dr. Jared," Dr. Margaret interrupted softly, stepping slightly between us with her hands raised to calm the situation down, "you know I'm currently Autumn’s therapist and this is a private clinical session, she's currently in a state of severe emotional distress. Since we're colleagues, I must ask you to—"

"Dr. Margaret, I really don't care about anything, she owes me an explanation for what she pulled last night," Jared snapped, his voice slightly raised, he didn't even take his eyes off me for even a second.

"I don't owe you anything!" I blurted out, a fresh wave of tears spilled over my swollen eyelids. I shoved myself further away from him, "stay away from me, Jared! Don't come any closer!"

"Autumn, I want you to look at me," his deep voice softened a bit though the desperation still lingered, "why did you run? Was last night... Was it really just a mistake to you? Did I force you? Tell me to my face and I swear to you right now, I will turn away from you and never disturb you ever again."

"Yes! It was a mistake!" I yelled, my voice cracking at its peak, the guilt was eating me alive clawing at my ribs until I could barely draw breath. "It was a horrific, selfish mistake! I used you because I was terrified and couldn't stay alone while completely ignoring the fact that you belong to someone else!"

Jared froze mid step, his brows furrowing in utter bewilderment, "belong to... what the hell are you talking about?"

"The blonde woman!" I screamed, the words tumbled out of me before I could even think properly, I pointed a shaking finger at bim, my whole body trembling violently, "I'm not blind, Jared! I saw her! Not once, not even twice! She is elegant, perfect... fits into that perfectly sculptured world of yours, best of it, she isn't sick like you." I choked on the raw words that were slipping out of my mouth, "she belongs with you! And I... I stepped right into her place like a pathetic, lonely parasite!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, placing my face into my hands as heavy sobs wrecked my shoulders, "I can't believe history keeps repeating itself, I became the villain again, taking what belonged to another woman because I was too weak to say no to you. I can't live with that guilt, Jared! I'm not ready to ruin another person's life!"

A suffocating silence fell into the room, the sound of my ragged breathing filled the air. I waited for anything, his cold anger or maybe the harsh truth of his confession to shatter whatever was left of my fragile heart. Instead, a low quiet sound cut through the silence, I blinked through my tears, slowly lifting my head.

Jared was standing in the center of the office, his head tilted back slightly as deep laughs escaped his throat. He pressed a hand over his face, his chest heaving as a breathless chuckle left his lips. "The blonde woman?" Jared gasped out, dropping his hand to look at me.

"Autumn... are you talking about Chloe?" I stared at him, entirely thrown off balance by his reaction.

"I... what?"

"Chloe," he repeated, taking two steps towards me but before I could back away, he reached out using his warm hands firmly gripping my upper arms but he held me place, forcing me to look directly into his face, "the blonde woman you saw at my home and at the office right?"

"Yes!" I stammered, my mind spinning dizzily, "she—"

"Autumn, Chloe is my younger sister," everything seemed to stop spinning the second he said that, the heavy weight of my guilt vanished in a blinding flash of absolute silence. 

"Your... your sister?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. He nodded with a soft smile, "yes, she lives in Paris but comes back to steal my stuff once in a while. The time you saw her at my place, she was mad that I didn't introduce her to my 'girlfriend'."

Dr. Margaret quietly stepped back, sitting down at her desk and folded her hands, watching us with a quiet expression on her face. "But... but that day, she was wearing your clothes?"

He exhaled softly, "as I said previously, she steals all my stuff," he flicked my head gently, "you ran away in the freezing morning light because you thought I had a secret blonde girlfriend? Autumn, there's no else, it has been you and will always be you."

His dark eyes locked onto mine with a mix of different emotions, "I didn't come all the way because I wanted an apology," he carried my hands intertwined it gently, "I came here to tell you that I don't regret the day I met you, I would have regretted it if I had insisted to be your therapist," he took in a deep breath, his thumbs pressing gently against my cheekbones.

"I love you, Autumn, I really do," the words hit me so hard I almost lost my balance, "I want you in my life forever... I want to marry you..."