Page 321 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Anna bit her lip. “I don’t know. Tom said he went out for air.”

Simon frowned and looked at Tony and Greg, seated at the table behind them. “Where’d Alex go?”

Tony shrugged. “Outside somewhere. Seth is with him.”

Simon looked thoughtful. “Excuse me for a few minutes.” He kissed Emma’s cheek and walked away.

Anna sat down as gracefully as she could and gave polite smiles to the others at the table. She fidgeted with the lace on her dress, not knowing what to do. Had she upset Alex? But she hadn’t seen him since the early afternoon and he’d seemed fine then. Even when she was dancing, she had hoped he would sense her love for him. He seemed to always know how she was feeling, and she wondered if his “imbuement” from the Immortals had something to do with that.

Where is he?

“Alex, is there a reason you’re out here alone instead of inside with your wife?”

Simon had found Alex and Seth around the side of the theater. Alex had been there since the performance ended. He didn’t want to see the way Anna looked at Hugo up close. Witnessing it on stage had been dreadful. Seth told him he was being ridiculous, but it didn’t change his mind. He felt like he didn’t belong anywhere, and for the first time in his life, he was avoiding a social situation because he was afraid. Acknowledging his fear made him even more insecure and more determined to avoid the situation. It was a vicious cycle.

“She doesn’t want to see me,” he said softly in German. “I should have stayed away from her.”

Simon looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “What are you talking about?”

“Anna. She... God, I should have just left her alone in her new life. I could have confronted Devin on my own and she would have been free to live her life, believing I was dead.”

“Alex, she loves you,” Seth said. “I don’t know where you got this ridiculous idea that she’d rather be with Hugo than you.”

“She took her ring off when they were dating.”

“She put it back on.”

“She knows she has to be with me. That she didn’t really have a choice after all.”

“She chose you before she knew that.” Seth frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Although if you keep acting like a pussy, she might change her mind.”

Alex closed his eyes at his friend’s words. “Maybe I should just let her.” He turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?” Seth and Simon caught up with him.

“Home.” He glanced at Seth. “Make sure she gets home okay.”

“You will wound her terribly if you leave,” Simon called after him. “She was very disappointed that you weren’t there when she arrived.”

“She’d be more disappointed if I went back in,” Alex muttered, skipping down the shallow steps that led to the street. His condo was only a few blocks away. Just a few blocks until he could be alone in his misery.

Anna knew something was wrong when Seth walked in with Simon and without Alex. Dinner was being served, but she pushed away from the table and hurried over to the two men. “Where’s Alex?”

They looked at each other. “He—‍” Seth sighed. “He went home.”

Anna stared, not believing the words that had come out of Seth’s mouth. “He went... home?”

Seth nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, Anna.”

She looked out through the glass doors of the lobby, hoping to see Alex walking toward the building, but he wasn’t there. “Why?”

Seth grimaced. “He’s . . . having trouble . . . adjusting to . . . being . . . alive.”

She blinked, her brows twitching as she blinked away tears. What was Seth trying to say? That Alex didn’t want to be with her? Her shoulders slumped. She’d so been looking forward to dancing with him tonight. To see the proud expression on his face when she walked in.

But he’d gone home. Had he even seen her dance? Had he spent enough time with her to realize she wasn’t what he wanted? The thought was a knife through her heart. Did he not love her anymore?

She went back to her seat and sat down hard, staring at the elegant china place setting in front of her to avoid seeing the empty chair next to her.

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