Page 44 of The Rancher's Unrequited Love

Only minutes had passed when Ethan walked Guilia out to her car, but it felt as if her whole life had changed. She turned to him impulsively, and the way Ethan stiffened had a shaky smile curving over her lips. "There's no need to look so worried. I won't make any trouble for you again."

"Even if you did," Ethan murmured, "it wouldn't change a thing."

And there was her answer, Guilia thought,to the question she no longer needed to ask.Shecouldtry to make trouble for him still. Play on his guilt or threaten to expose Hartland Initiative even. She could've done anything, and none of it would've made a difference.

"When Travis and his father were arrested..." She saw the way Ethan's lips tightened, and Guilia swallowed hard. She had always wondered what kind of person could've dared gone up against those men, whose wealth had given them nearly unchecked power, and now she knew.

"Thank you," Guilia whispered.

"I only wish I had been able to do it sooner."

"Do you think," she asked wistfully, "if I had given us a chance, it would've worked between us?"

"It could've," Ethan answered levelly, "but there's no way to know anymore, and you'd only be wasting your time thinking about it." Anah was the woman he'd love for the rest of hislife, and after this meeting with Guilia, he was all the more determined to not let a single secret exist between them.

Secrets, no matter how well-meaning, could only keep people apart, and he could only hope—-

"What did she say," Guilia asked hesitantly, "when you told her about asking me to marry you?"

"She doesn't know," Ethan said curtly, "but I plan to tell her—-" He saw the look on Guilia's face.

No.

And when Guilia stammered, "I'm so s-sorry..."

Ethan could feel the air being sucked out of his world, and it took every effort not to keep his hand from shaking as he took his phone out of his pocket.

It's going to be fine.

Anah's phone started ringing.

You can fix this.

But eventually his call was redirected to voicemail.

You're not going to lose her.

He tried to convince himself of this as he drove like a madman and collected speeding tickets along the way.

It's going to be fine. You can fix this. You're not going to lose her.

But when he got to his place, he knew...

The moment he stepped inside...

He knew.

Even before he saw the ring she had left on his bedroom console, he already knew.

The emptiness that gnawed at his heart was all that he needed to feel...

And he knew.

She was gone.

She had left him.

Because she wanted him to be happy.

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