Moonlit Mountain (Caleb and Sarah)

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Finding Forever After the Betrayal) Chapter 7

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With the house sold, a wave of relief, so potent it almost felt like grief,

washed over me. The closing date, I noted with a grim satisfaction, coincided with my departure date. It was fitting, in a way. A clean break. No need for explanations, for awkward goodbyes, for watching the light fade from Aiden and Ethan's eyes as they finally understood that I was truly leaving.

My aunt. I still had to face her, to tell her that I was going back to Seattle,

back to a life, a family, I barely remembered.

The thought of seeing the hurt in her eyes, the disappointment... it was

almost unbearable. So, I did what I always did when faced with an emotionally

fraught situation: I went shopping.

I found a beautiful diamond bracelet that shone with a pleasant light. My

aunt, with her tireless devotion to her patients, was always complaining about back pain. A state-of-the-art massage pillow found its

-art massage pillow found its way into my basket, a

small token of appreciation for the woman who'd become more of a mother to me than my own flesh and blood.

"Violet! My dear girl!"

Aunt Sarah's hug was a balm to my soul, her embrace warm and familiar, a stark contrast to the icy knot that had taken up permanent residence in my stomach."I can't believe you're leaving!" she exclaimed, pulling back, her eyes 12:32

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shining with unshed tears."All these years, you've been like a daughter to me. It won't be the same without you."

The words I'd been dreading, yet a part of me, a selfish, wounded part, craved her sadness, her acknowledgment that my absence would leave a void in her life, too. I blinked back the sudden sting of tears, forcing a smile that felt stiff and unnatural."I know, Auntie. I'll miss you too. But it's not like we'll never see each other again. It's just a plane ride away."

My aunt, ever practical, wiped her eyes and patted my hand."You're right, you're right. Come, sit, tell me everything. You're staying for dinner, of course. No arguments!"

And just like that, I was enveloped in the warmth of her love, the familiar comfort of her tiny kitchen, the aroma of her famous chicken noodle soup filling me with a sense of peace I hadn't realized I was craving. As she bustled around, her face alight with a genuine affection I hadn't seen directed at me in weeks, a painful truth settled in my chest: This, this easy intimacy, this uncomplicated love... this was what I'd craved from Aiden and Ethan. And this, this was what they had so carelessly thrown away.

A few days later, with my departure looming like a storm cloud on the

horizon, I found myself standing on my aunt's doorstep, a suitcase at my feet, my

heart a leaden weight in my chest.

"Auntie," I began, my voice catching, "I should go. My flight..."

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"Your wedding," my aunt finished, her eyes shining with a mixture of joy and a deep, abiding sadness that mirrored my own."Of course, dear. You go on. Make a life for yourself. I... I couldn't get away. Too many surgeries scheduled. Life and death, you know?" She pressed a gift into my hand, her fingers lingering

on mine, a silent plea in her touch."This is for you. For your new life. You'll be happy, Violet. I know it."

I stared down at the gift, the weight of her words settling over me like a

shroud. "I... Thank you, Auntie."

""Violet? Sarah?"

The elevator doors slid open, revealing Aiden and Ethan, Hannah

sandwiched awkwardly between them like a prize they were both eager to claim. They stopped short, their faces etched with an alarm that sent a fresh wave of grief crashing over me. They'd come. For me? Or was it guilt, a last-minute attempt to salvage the wreckage of our friendship?

"What's going on?" Aiden asked, his gaze darting between my tear-stained cheeks and my aunt's watery smile, the suitcase by my feet a silent testament to my impending departure. "Why are you crying?"

I hastily wiped my cheeks, willing the tears to stop. "It's nothing," I said, my

voice bright, artificial. A performance for an audience that no longer cared to see

past the mask. "Just saying goodbye. I haven't seen Auntie in a while, and now..." 41.8%

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Relief flooded their faces, their worry dissolving as quickly as it had Menu

appeared. Or maybe it was just annoyance that their carefully constructed world,

a world that now revolved around Hannah, had been momentarily disrupted.

"You're being silly," Ethan said, his usual swagger returning now that the crisis had been averted. "You can see her any time you want. You're in the same city."

My aunt, however, looked like she was about to burst. I could practically see

the words forming on her lips: "She's not staying in Los Angeles, you idiots! She's leaving! For good!"

Before she could intervene, however, I quickly changed the subject. "What

are you three doing here?" I asked, turning my attention to Hannah, who seemed

to shrink under my gaze, her usual confidence faltering under the weight of my scrutiny.

"It's Mid-Autumn Festival," Aiden explained, a touch too quickly, his eyes darting nervously to Ethan as if looking for backup. "We thought it would be nice

to have a proper family dinner. We tried calling you, but you didn't pick up." Family dinner. With Hannah.

In the past, Aiden and Ethan had always competed for my presence during

holidays, especially Mid-Autumn Festival. It was tradition, they said, their voices thick with an earnestness that had made my heart ache with a mixture of 12:32

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joy and apprehension, for a man to spend the festival with the woman he intended to marry. I'd always ended up having two dinners, one at Aiden's family's sprawling estate, the other at Ethan's parents' cozy beach house. It was exhausting, but also... flattering. A testament to their affection, their desire to claim me as their own.

But not this year.

This year, they were having their family dinner with Hannah. The

realization hit me like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs. "That's nice," I said, my voice as hollow as I felt. "You guys have fun."

I turned to leave, eager to escape the suffocating weight of their presence, the unspoken words hanging in the air like a shroud. I was almost home free, a free woman, when Aiden and Ethan reached out, their hands grasping my arms, their touch sending a jolt of something painful, something that felt a lot like longing, straight to my heart.

place.

"Violet, wait," Aiden pleaded, his voice tight with an emotion I couldn't quite

"Don't go," Ethan added, his fingers tightening on my arm, his usual swagger

replaced by a vulnerability that made my throat ache.

I froze, my heart pounding a chaotic rhythm against my ribs.

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