Chapter 243

“I have a lot to tell you, actually.”

Andrew did not interrupt me. He merely stared back at me, patiently waiting for me to reveal my news to him. It made my heart pound hard against my ribs, but I forced myself to continue.

“I was at your house today for a reason,” I continued. I swallowed against the hard knot that had formed in my throat. “I wanted to see you one last time, but I didn’t want you to see me.”

His eyes widened slightly.

“What do you mean, one last time?”

My hands shook. Tears pricked at the edges of my eyes. I stretched out my jaw, trying to maintain control over myself.

I was failing horribly.

“Noah and I are leaving the pack, immediately.”

I stopped to let this news sink in.

Andrew did not respond. His expression fell to neutral, but he did not say a word. It was almost worse than if he had had an outburst; at least then I would have been able to gauge his emotions.

“He’s already quit his job at the firm, and I’ve made arrangements at Ever After Weddings for Terri to take over more of the day-to-day operations. I gave up my lease, and Noah is selling his house. We’ll be leaving any day now.”

Andrew’s facial expression remained neutral, but there was something about it…it was too neutral, almost blank. It was as though he was trying so hard to hold something back that he did not allow himself even the slightest emotion, lest it all came spilling out.

“But where will you go?” he asked.

“He and I are going to start a new life together in the Crescent Moon Pack.”

“The Crescent Moon Pack?” Andrew finally said. “They’re so small. Are you sure that they will be able to provide for you?”

I nodded.

“Noah has done all the necessary research. He’s assured me that they not only can accept us but will do so with open arms. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Andrew huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Yes, and his word can always be trusted.”

“He’s not let me down so far.”

“Except for the time that you were charged with murder and he completely abandoned you.”

I felt as though I had just been struck in the chest with an iron fist, knocking the wind out of me.

“That’s not fair, Andrew. He had his reasons.”

“Yeah, his reason being that he’s a coward. He didn’t stand by you then, why would he stand by you now? How can you trust that he has your best interests at heart?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

“Please, Andrew, let’s not start that now. I don’t want our last moments together to be tainted by us fighting.”

“You’re making it sound as though we’re never going to see each other again.”

The depressed tone in his voice forced me to turn away. I couldn’t get myself to say the truth out loud, especially not to him.

I ran my hand through my hair and walked away, towards the kitchen. I could hear Andrew plodding behind me, and I let him. I couldn’t have stopped him anyway; it was his apartment.

I looked around the kitchen mindlessly. My hand ran over the smooth granite counter and the steel refrigerator. My feet swept across the ebony floor, and my eyes examined the matching cabinets.

I wasn’t sure what I was doing at first until I found it, Andrew’s engagement ring glimmering on the kitchen floor. I bent over and scooped it into my hand. For a moment, I admired its beauty and cherished the feel of its cool metal surface against my palm before I turned back to face Andrew.

I took his left hand and slipped the ring back on his finger.

“People like us don’t have the luxury of choosing who we want to be with,” I said, letting my fingers linger on the place where his flesh and the ring met. “We have to think about the needs of others before our own desires.”

“Please, Crystal, tell me that this isn’t ‘goodbye’—a permanent ‘goodbye’.” Andrew’s voice cracked, taking me aback.

I ran my thumb over his engagement ring.

“I’m afraid that this is,” I said. I wiped my tears with the palm of my hand. “I’m sorry, Andrew.”

I cupped his cheek with my hand and reached up to brush my lips over his.

“Please, Crystal. I don’t think that I can be happy without you,” he said, his lips lightly touching mine.

I nuzzled his neck gently, then pulled myself away.

“People don’t necessarily have to be with the ones they love deeply to be happy,” I explained, as though that would take the sting away at all. It certainly didn’t alleviate the heaviness weighing down my heart.

I stroked his cheek, hoping to soothe him but knowing, deep down, that the more I touched him, the worse the ache would grow.

Andrew leaned into my caress and grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly. It felt as though he would never let me go, and a part of me didn’t want him to.

“No,” he said, “but being separated makes it a Hell of a lot harder.”

I watched, astonished, as his eyes glazed over. Tears gathered at the edges, then streamed down his cheeks. With my free hand, I wiped some of the tears away.

“I didn’t know you did that,” I said, staring at the wetness on my fingertips.

I could have slapped myself for saying that.

Of course, Andrew cried. He was human, after all. Just because I had never seen it, didn’t mean that it never happened.

It only meant that he wasn’t comfortable enough with me to cry in front of me before.

Instead of being mad, though, Andrew did something that surprised me. He smiled, but it wavered at the edges.

“I haven’t done it in front of someone in years,” he explained. He sniffled as the tears continued to flow. “I guess that you must be someone special.”

I smiled sadly back at him.

“You are, too, Andrew.”

Andrew wrapped his arms around me and brought me in close for a hug, squeezing me until I thought that my ribs would crack. I snaked my arms around his back and reciprocated as hard as I could.

After several minutes, we parted.

“I will always love you, Crystal Blanchard,” Andrew said.

“I will always love you, too, Andrew Dubois.”

His eyes roved across my face, as though he were trying to memorize my features. I took the moment to memorize all that I could about him as well, starting with his hypnotic eyes and ending with soft, kissable lips. It took everything in me to not throw my plans aside and pick up where we had left off earlier.

“‘Til we meet again.”

I let Andrew have that final remark. I knew in my heart that this meeting would be our last, but if he refused to accept that, then I could not change that. Perhaps I wished that it wasn’t really going to be our last, either.

With one final glance at him, I walked out the apartment door, intent on never seeing Andrew again.