Tears burned in my eyes. I flung my arms around her, hugging her as tightly as I could.
My best friend was there. She was in front of me. In the home of the man I had practically run away with.
Seeing her there made it all real.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” I said into her hair.
Lana pulled back. “Of course I did,” she said. “Couldn’t let my best friend break up with her fiancé and pack everything herself, could I? Plus, you know, I really wanted to stay at that hotel.”
I laughed, wiping my cheeks of the tears that had trickled down them. “What… But what are you doing here?”
“Can I come inside?” she asked.
“Oh shit. Yeah—“ I opened the door wider, letting Lana in, and I couldn’t help but hug her again when the door was closed, and we were in the living room.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.
“Stop crying,” she said, wiping her own face. “You’re making me cry.”
I chuckled under my breath. “How did you know I was here?” I asked.
Lana smiled back at Gavin as he slipped an arm around my waist. “Ask your… I’m not sure what to call you yet,” she said, her head tilting.
“We haven’t really gotten that far,” I admitted, wondering myself what to call him.
“I messaged her this morning on the Arrow app,” Gavin said, and I turned into him, my heart aching at the smile on his face. “I was asking if she knew what was going on. Told her you were here. I was going to pay for her to get on a plane and anything else she needed, but she said she was already on a flight over.”
“So, I checked into your room at the hotel,” Lana added. “And Gavin sent a car over to bring me here.”
“I would have picked you up myself, but she woke up earlier than I thought she would,” Gavin told Lana. His gaze moved to me. “I figured you could use the help and support. I didn’t think you wanted me to go over and chance Tyler being there.”
This man… he continued to surprise me. Making sure my best friend was there while I made such a huge life decision was something I would never have expected from him—from anyone.
I sighed as I looked up at the clock Gavin had on his wall. “We should probably head over there soon,” I said.
Lana met Gavin’s gaze over my head, and he squeezed my waist. “Putting it off a few more minutes won’t hurt,” he said. “How about breakfast first?”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE - CHLOE
LANA HELPED ME pack up my things as I was a wad of nerves.
I honestly didn’t have much. I was leaving behind every piece of jewelry Tyler had ever bought me, along with any clothes I knew I would never wear. I left the oversized watch I wore on his dresser and the engagement ring on my finger… I laid it on the kitchen counter, back in its box.
With every trip to the storage unit, leaving him became more and more real. I grew more nauseous the further into the afternoon it got. Every little noise startled me, thinking it was Tyler coming home. I didn’t know why I was so panicked. This was Tyler, not Aidan. Lana was there, and Gavin was a phone call away.
Lana and I were closing my last suitcase when we heard the front door open and close. Our eyes met, and I swear my heart stopped beating.
There was an instant of silence in which I stilled, unsure if he would even notice the ring on the counter.
“What the—Chloe? Chloe!”
There was panic in his tone as his footsteps hurried along the floor as down the hall. He called my name again. And again. And then again when he launched himself into the closet and saw Lana zipping up my suitcase, with me standing there in silence next to her as the color drained from his face.
“Chloe,” he repeated, his throat bobbing as he shifted from foot to foot. “What are you… What’s this?” He held up the ring box. “Why are you—are you packing?”
“Let’s go to the living room,” I said, finally finding my voice.
“No,” he argued. “No, what is she doing here?” His eyes landed on Lana. “What have you filled her head with? Are you—“
