“No,” he interrupted, his voice cracking. “Please, don’t. You don’t have to say anything. I just needed to let you know how I felt.”
She reached for his hands and squeezed them, tears running down her cheeks. “That’s just it, though,” she whispered, feeling her tears meet her hands. “I love…I love you, too. But Callan…” Her voice trailed off, the name hanging in the air between them. “I could never leave him. Not now.”
“I don’t want you to leave him,” he said softly. “I’d never ask that of you.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
He swiped at his face with his free hand, his eyes now reflecting hers. “Because I’m moving to America. Permanently.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I can’t stay in London, not with this...not with you there,” he confessed, his gaze locking onto hers.
She understood and knew it made sense. If he stayed here, and she was in England, the growing distance between them would soon shut the door on any future they might’ve had. But it hurt, more than she expected, more than it should have.
“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered. “Not for anyone, and certainly not for me.”
He reached up to wipe her tears gently. “I know,” he murmured. “I know.”
For a while, they just stared at each other, each seeing the fear, sadness, and betrayal reflected in the other’s eyes. Then, without thinking, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.
“No,” Logan said, pulling away. But Daisy refused to pull back. If this was their goodbye, it had to mean something. The years their lives had been intertwinedhadto mean something.
Slowly, their lips met again, tentative at first, then deepening. His hands slid into her hair, and their tears mingled, becoming one. It felt like the floodgates had opened, washing away everything they’d held onto for so long.
“I’m sorry,” Logan whispered between kisses. “I mean it, Daisy. I’m sorry.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and let them part. Catching her breath, she traced his jaw with her fingers, as if trying to imprint the moment in her memory.
“You can't leave,” she said, her voice trembling. “I need you.”
“I need you, too,” he admitted. “Which is why I have to.”
They sat there for a long moment, caught between desire and reality. For a moment, they both relived every emotion, every hope, and every possibility they'd once dared to imagine. She was once again the trusting young woman he’d met all those years ago, with her life ahead of her, and he was that ambitious boy who’d been desperate to feel whole.
“Do you think…do you think the future version of us is going to hate ourselves for this choice?” she whispered, staring down at their hands, inches apart.
He shifted to face her and cupped her face, his thumb catching the tears as they fell.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I think the future version of Miss Daisy would hate herself more for walking away from someone she still loves.” He paused, then stood. “Come on,” he added, offering his hand. “I’d best get you back.”
They drove in silence, the quiet hum of the engine filling the space between them. She wanted to cry, sob, and scream. A devout believer that nothing in this life was without reason, she struggled to fathom how life could be so relentlessly cruel.
Logan reached for her hand, as if reading her thoughts. She could feel it in how his fingers trembled, and he kept blinking; she wasn’t alone.
“You know,” he said, glancing at her as they stopped at a set of traffic lights. “In another life—” he began, his voice barely a whisper, but his words were lost in the sudden, horrifying sound of screeching tires.
A blinding flash of headlights hit seconds later, followed by the ear-splitting collision of metal against metal. The car jerked, thrown into a violent spin that sent a spray of shattered glass into the air before they both lurched forward, the car smashing against something hard, a wall or a power pole, Daisy wasn’t sure.
“Daisy!” His voice rang out—frantic, distant—cutting through the chaos. But before she could respond, her head struck something hard, and a crushing stillness enveloped her, as if the world had folded in on itself, leaving her suspended in darkness.
XL
DAISY
Daisy blinked, her eyes struggling to adjust to the morning sunlight filtering into the room. Then it hit her: the sterile smell of antiseptic, the unfamiliar sound of beeping machines and muffled voices.
She swallowed, her mouth dry and head pounding.
