Page 5 of American Beauty

And just like that, I see past the jokes, past the bravado.

I take a slow breath, staring down at the delicate shell of a half-eaten macaron. “I love him, Vi. I love him so much. And leaving him tore me apart.”

Violet is silent for a moment. She watches me, her eyes softer now, her expression unreadable. Then she leans back, crossing her arms over her chest. “So what does that mean? For the future?”

A long breath escapes my lips. “I don’t know. I have a lot to think about.”

Violet hums, tilting her head. “Hmm.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What?”

She smirks. “Oh nothing. Only mentally planning your wedding, that’s all.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s quite the leap.”

She shrugs. “Not really. You’re in love with a man who will absolutely put a ring on it. A huge one. Wait and see.”

Her words settle somewhere deep in my chest. Because despite everything—the distance, the uncertainty, the choices I still have to make—I don’t know if she’s right.

The drive to my apartment is quiet, a stark contrast to the nonstop chatter at the cafe. Violet hums along to the radio, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel, but she doesn’t push for more conversation. She knows me too well. Knows I need a moment to sit with my thoughts.

Sunrise paints the city in gold as we drive through familiar streets, but nothing feels the same. Maybe I’m the one who’s changed.

By the time we pull up to my building, exhaustion drapes over me like a weighted blanket. Violet grabs a couple of my bags without waiting for me to argue and walks me to the door. She sets them down inside, giving the place a quick glance like she’s checking that it’s still standing.

“I’m not gonna hover,” she says, pulling me into a hug and squeezing tighter than usual. “You’re wiped. You need sleep, not me breathing down your neck. Text me if you need anything.”

I nod, forcing a small smile. “I will.”

But as soon as I step inside, the facade cracks.

The door clicks shut behind me, sealing me inside the quiet stillness of my apartment. It’s exactly the way I left it—neatly arranged furniture, the stale scent of the old building clinging to the air.

I cross the room and strike a match, lighting the vanilla candle I always keep on the coffee table. Watching the flame flicker to life feels like staking a small claim—like reminding this place that I’m back.

But I’m not the same.

I’m different.

My suitcase sits by the door, a tangible reminder that I was somewhere else not so long ago. That I was with him. Wrapped up in his arms, in his life, in a world that now seems impossibly far away.

I kick out of my shoes, making my way deeper inside, but the space is almost foreign. Like I don’t quite belong here anymore.

Because a piece of my heart remains in Sydney.

Part of me is his.

I sit on the edge of my bed, staring at nothing, my thoughts tangled in all the ways I’ve changed since the last time I was in this room. How I used to think I had everything figured out. How I once believed that love was something I could choose to walk away from if I had to.

But I was wrong.

I love Alex Sebring. Endlessly.

He’s still in every breath I take, and I don’t think that will ever change.

Chapter 2

Alex Sebring

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