24. Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

J ess stood there, frozen, her face a mix of surprise and confusion. “Liz,” she said slowly. “What are you..”

Liz took one tentative step toward her. “We need to talk,” she said in a shaky, pleading voice. “Please.”

Sam watched Jess’ expression carefully as the confusion grew. But she just stared silently back at her.

Liz threw a nervous glance at Sam, as if silently begging for her to leave them to talk in private.

Sam was about to look at Jess, to see what she wanted, if she wanted her to leave them, but before she could, her phone began buzzing in her pocket.

She looked down with a frown, seeing Caleb’s name on the screen.

“I have to take this,” she said, casting a quick glance at Jess, who looked back at her with a blank, still confused stare. “I’ll be right back.”

She strode to the front doors, pushing them open and stepping out into the chilly evening air.

Then she swiped the phone open, holding it to her ear. “Now's not a good time—”

“Did you see Howard’s email?” he cut in immediately.

She stopped mid-step. “No. I’m not exactly trying to work during the wedding,” she growled, unable to contain the annoyance. She turned, glancing back through the window into the entry area where Jess and Liz still stood, now closer together. “Why?”

“He sent the details on when their lawyer will be here with the paperwork,” he said quickly. “It’s tomorrow morning.”

“What?” Sam asked, releasing a frustrated breath. “I can’t—”

“I know, I know,” he interjected. “But is there any way you can come back late tonight to be here in the morning?”

She shook her head in frustration.

This was the outcome she’d been catapulting toward for what seemed like ages. And now that it was finally happening, it suddenly felt like it was all moving too fast. Like she barely had time to think through one step before the next had already come and gone.

“No.”

Caleb was quiet for a moment, probably too stunned by the answer she’d never really given him before.

“No?” he asked, confusion thick in his voice. “But, what about—”

“Caleb,” she gritted through clenched teeth. “I don’t care what you have to tell him. But I’m not leaving my friend’s wedding early just because he wants it to happen tomorrow.”

He fell quiet again, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care what he was thinking. This was one time she wouldn’t give in to the urgent demands and needs of anyone else.

Finally, he cleared his throat on the other end. “Okay,” he murmured, his voice losing its urgency. “I’ll—tell him we need to reschedule for later this week or something.”

“Kay,” Sam mumbled, only half paying attention as she turned back, peering through the window once more. She scanned the room until she found Jess and Liz again, now in the far corner, slightly more hidden.

“Sorry,” Caleb murmured. “I just thought you’d want it to happen as quick as possible.”

She squinted, eyes dropping to where Liz’s hand now held Jess’ in her own.

“Its fine,” she said into the phone. And now, seeing how close Jess and Liz stood, their hands locked together, she was glad she’d had an excuse to walk away.

“I’ll text you after I know the new day and time.”

Sam listened as he mumbled something else, perhaps some form of a goodbye, but she was too distracted to listen.

She stood there with the phone still pressed tightly to her ear for a few moments before she realized the call had already ended.

And even then, she left it there, still watching Jess and Liz through the window.

Then Liz began to lean forward.

Sam’s heart lurched into her chest as she watched Liz slowly bend forward, placing a kiss on Jess’ cheek. A kiss she didn’t pull away from.

And that was it. She couldn’t watch anymore.

She turned, blinking the image out of her mind as she made her way to a small wooden bench a few yards from the entrance.

She tucked the phone into her pocket as she sat down, her mind reeling one moment, then going utterly blank the next.

She should’ve been thinking about the meeting she’d just turned down. Or the agreement they’d sent that she still needed to look over.

But all she could think of in that moment was what might have been happening inside.

And then another thought entered her mind.

London.

She had no right to be angry. She had no right to have any opinion on what Jess did—or what she chose.

She was going to leave. Again.

Maybe it would be better this way. Because Jess deserved better. She deserved someone who would stay.

And maybe—eventually—Liz would be that person. No matter how much Sam hated that thought, if that’s what was best for Jess, she would choose it in a heartbeat.

The door of the entrance pulled open.

Sam’s head whipped to the side, seeing Liz step out and trudge down the short path to the parking lot without so much as casting one glance in her direction.

She watched her the entire way until she was out of view.

Then the door opened again. And this time, it was Jess who walked out.

Sam watched as she looked around outside, then stopped once her eyes fell on the bench where Sam still sat.

She frowned, but looked relieved as she walked toward her before wordlessly dropping onto the bench.She stared out blankly into the parking lot, looking more worn and exhausted than she’d seen her in weeks.

Sam watched her intently, waiting. But as the seconds ticked on, she realized she wasn’t going to get the explanation she was looking for.

“So,” Sam said quietly, “you guys..” She trailed off, leaving the question hanging in the air.

Jess released a deep breath. “She wants to work things out—get back together.” Her eyes flicked down to her lap as she bit her lip. “She said things would be different now. That she’d be working less and would have more time to focus on our relationship.”

Sam’s jaw tightened as the image of Liz kissing her cheek flashed through her mind.

“You deserve that,” Sam said quietly, hating each word as it came out. “You deserve someone who will give you that. And I—” she looked away, swallowing down the reluctance in her throat. “I understand.”

Jess turned to her then, her eyes tightening a fraction. “What do you mean?”

Sam loosed a breath, running a hand over the back of her neck. “I mean—you don’t have to justify it to me. If that’s—if that’s what you’re going to do.”

In an instant, the confused look in Jess’ eyes turned to something resembling anger.“Is that really what you would say if I ended up with someone else?”

Sam watched her carefully, her mind searching for where she’d apparently gone wrong in her previous words. “What do you want me to say?”

Jess scoffed, shaking her head as the anger built within her eyes. “I guess that’s my answer.”

She stood suddenly, as if about to walk away. Then she stopped, whirling back around.

“And I guess that’s the difference between us, Sam,” she said, spitting each word out. “Because I’ll tell you right now, if I saw you with someone else today, I sure as hell wouldn’t just let you go.” The muscle in her jaw twitched, her eyes flaring with anger. “I would fight for you with everything I have.”

Sam shook her head slightly, confusion swirling in her mind. “You want me to tell you what to do?” she asked, standing as she lifted a palm in the air. “You want me to tell you not to get back together with her?”

“I want you to stop pretending like it doesn’t matter to you!” Jess shot back.

Sam stared at her, her mind twisting with every word she wanted to say. With everything she felt. But one thought overtook them all.

She was leaving. Again.

So none of that mattered. Again .

She swallowed the words down, looking away as the guilt crept back into her chest.

They stood there for a moment in silence before Jess finally shook her head.“In high school,” she said quietly, her voice frail as if she was holding back tears, “you needed time. I could see it in you that you weren’t ready. And I thought it was because of me.” Her voice cracked as a tear fell down her face that she quickly wiped away. “I thought it was because of what I’d done, and how long it’d taken me to come to terms with who I really was. What I wanted.” She paused, shaking her head. “But now I know it wasn’t that. It wasn’t my fault. You would’ve left regardless of what I did. Because that’s what you do.”

Sam’s head yanked back, her eyes narrowing. Something in the words broke a piece within her. Something that felt like it’d been built up for an eternity.

And instantly, that guilt she’d felt before was entirely replaced with a burning rage.

“You think what happened between us in high school was my fault?” she asked, her voice falling to a deathly quiet.

Jess’ eyes flicked to hers, a new cautious intensity within them.

“You have no idea how that felt,” Sam seethed as every long buried wound resurfaced. “You have no idea how it felt to fall so helplessly in love with you. All while you changed your mind every single day about wanting me back.”

A pained look flashed across Jess’ face.

But Sam couldn’t stop. Everything she’d forced away years before came flooding to the surface.

“You have no fucking idea how much it hurt to have the girl you loved more than anything treat you like the love of her life one day, and absolutely nothing the next.”

Jess’ lips parted as her eyes filled with tears. “You know that’s not how it was,” she whispered, her lip trembling. “You know I never meant to make you feel like that.”

“I don’t care if that’s how you meant for it to feel,” Sam spat, ignoring the urge to hold back the words. Ignoring everything in her that screamed to stop. That screamed to do whatever it took—say whatever needed to be said—just to make Jess stop hurting.

“That’s how it was, Jess!” she continued, pain rushing through her bones. Pain that had been long suppressed, but never once forgotten.

“No matter how much I understand it. No matter how much I understand how hard it was for you.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t change how hard it was for me, too. It doesn’t take away the pain of having my heart ripped back and forth for months while you figured it out.”

Jess looked at her with more defeat in her eyes than she’d ever seen before. Guilt seeped through them.

“You have no idea how it feels to not be wanted by the one person you want more than anything.”

A tear rolled down Jess’ cheek, but this time, she didn’t bother wiping it away. “I want every part of you,” she said as she stepped forward. “I did then, and I do now!” Jess shook her head, her eyes filled with an almost desperate looking frustration. “God, I want you to give me your last fucking name, Sam!”

Sam's body froze, and with it, so did the anger that coursed through her.

She stared at Jess, who seemed to be just as shocked by the words as she was.

Jess blinked, her throat bobbing as she swallowed and glanced down at the ground between them. She shook her head slightly, her voice lowering. “That’s how much I want you,” she whispered, shutting her eyes as she released a sharp breath. “I don’t just want you when we’re in the same city. I want you every month. Every week.”

She shook her head, as if every word she’d spoken had drained the remaining fight within her.

“Every day,” she whispered.

Sam couldn’t think. She couldn’t move. It was as if she’d been split in half. And part of her was begging to stay—to take Jess in her arms and never, ever let go.

But the other half screamed against it. Screamed like it never had before.

Jess’ eyes finally found hers once again. A blue eyed warning sign. “And I’ve forced myself to swallow all of that down for the last four years.”

There were so many words she could have said. So many things she wanted to say. But none of them would take away what had already been set in motion.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Sam whispered, the words scraping out of her throat.

Jess’ eyes tightened slightly, caution flickering through her features.

“We got the official offer today,” Sam said, her voice so weak she wondered if the words had even made it past her lips. “I’m moving to London.”

Jess stared back, her face evening out into a blank, confused look. And with every second that passed, Sam could see her slowly begin to understand.

The rest of the tears that had built in Jess’ eyes spilled over, leaving sparkling streaks down her face.

Then she tipped her head back slightly, letting out an almost pained scoff. “Of course you are.”

Sam took a step toward her, although she didn’t know why. She didn’t know what to do—what to say. There wasn’t anything else.

It was utterly and entirely empty. She was empty.

And it was only then that she truly realized how much of their past she’d been holding onto.

How much hurt and anger had lingered for so long, exiled to the deepest parts of her.

“Then I guess it also doesn’t matter that I would’ve never said yes to getting back together with Liz,” Jess whispered, her eyes a broken mixture of anger and despair.

If she’d heard those words a few minutes before, she might’ve felt relief. But now, she only felt a deep swelling guilt.

She looked away, an unfamiliar feeling burning in the back of her eyes.

Jess turned, taking a step back before stopping.She opened her mouth, then paused, as if fighting with herself.

“We both know that for all those years, I would’ve done anything to be together,” she said with a calm that reminded Sam of the ocean after a bad storm had finally passed. “Ten miles, or ten thousand miles, I would’ve been yours.” Jess swallowed, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “It was you who walked away. It was you every single time.” Her jaw flickered in the dim light as she released a breath. “You always made sure you stayed just out of reach.”

Jess looked at her then, her eyes already distant and guarded behind the impenetrable wall that had risen between them. “I don’t know why I thought that would ever change.”

Then she turned, walking away.

Sam watched every step, not daring to follow.

Because there was nothing else left.

Everything had finally been laid out for both of them to see. Feelings she didn’t even know still existed within her.

And now, there was just—nothing.

She stumbled back a step, dropping onto the bench.

She waited for the thoughts to come racing through—to drown her beneath the waves of guilt from being the cause of Jess’ pain.

But—they didn’t.

Nothing came.

And maybe that’s what she had really needed. Because even if those words hurt to say, it was the truth. No matter how much it hurt both of them, maybe all that time, they’d been waiting to come out.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, mind blank, as she stared out into the parking lot.

But eventually, the door opened again.

She looked up and saw Scarlett peering back.

Sam blinked, instantly forcing a painful smile on her lips. “Hey,” she said, clearing her throat as she tried to hide the anguish in her voice. Because no matter what, she couldn’t let any of what happened take away from Scarlett’s happiness. “What’re you doing out here?”

Scarlett gave her a grim look as she walked toward her. She sat down beside her on the bench, and Sam knew then that she’d failed.

“So,” she said in a low, calm voice, “London?”

Sam sighed, leaning forward to rest her elbows against her thighs. She ran both hands over her face, pressing her palms into her tired eyes.

“Yeah,” she breathed. And she didn’t know why, but she needed Scarlett to understand. “I didn’t know,” she whispered, her voice shaking slightly. “I just found out this morning.”

“If I—” Sam continued, her voice cracking. “If I had known, I never would’ve—”

And that’s when she broke.

Everything she’d held back, everything she’d held together as she’d spoken with Jess, came rushing to the surface.

The burning in her eyes became unbearable, and she blinked away the foggy wetness that came with it.

She sucked in a sharp breath, her chest trembling as the pain radiated within her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen tonight.”

“I know,” Scarlett sighed, her voice tender and soothing. “I know. It’s okay.”

Scarlett’s hand ran up and down her back in a soothing motion as Sam failed to keep the tears from falling.

She took a shaky breath, wiping a palm against her cheeks.

“Do you want to go?” Scarlett asked quietly.

“It’s part of the deal,” Sam rasped, straightening up as she leaned back.

“Yeah. But do you want to go?”

Sam shook her head in frustration. “It doesn’t matter what I want. That’s how it has to go. I can’t give this up. This is what I’ve been working for—this is what I’ve given everything for.”

Scarlett took a slow breath, her eyes heavy with understanding. “You gave everything to build something incredible. But that doesn’t mean you have to lose yourself in the process.”

Sam clenched her jaw, irritation swirling in her gut. She wasn’t in the mood for platitudes, not now. Not after everything with Jess, not with the weight of London hanging over her like a storm she couldn’t outrun.

Scarlett’s hand remained on her shoulder. “You keep talking like this is all there is,” she said softly. “Like this deal, this move—it’s the only thing that matters. But I know you, Sam. You’re more than this company.”

Sam stared ahead, her chest tightening. It all felt like a lie—like everything she’d been working for, everything she’d sacrificed, had led her to this moment where suddenly nothing fit anymore.

“I’ve already made my decision,” Sam muttered, her voice flat.

Scarlett sighed beside her, but didn’t pull away. “I get it. But are you doing it because you want to? Or because you’re scared of—”

“I’m not scared,” she snapped, her voice sharp.

But even as the words left her mouth, something bitter settled in her throat. She didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want anyone picking apart her choices, especially when it suddenly felt like she barely understood them herself.

London was clean. It was clear-cut. It had no strings attached, no history, no—anything.

Scarlett watched her for a long moment, the silence almost unbearable. “You’re really going to walk away from this again?”

Sam’s heart clenched, the image of Jess standing there, tears in her eyes, flashing through her mind. She’d been ready to say something— anything —to stop her from walking away. But then what? They’d been there before. They’d stood at the edge of the same cliff, and every time, it ended the same way.

One of them always jumped. And the other always stayed.

Maybe it was because of Jess. Or maybe it was because of her.

Maybe Jess had walked away from her so many times when they’d first met that she couldn’t even tell whose fault it was anymore.

“It’s better this way,” Sam whispered, barely able to say the words aloud.

Scarlett shook her head slowly, disappointment etched into her features. “You really believe that?”

Sam didn’t answer. She couldn’t.

The truth was, nothing about it felt right.

The gap between them had grown too wide, and this deal was the only thing she could control.

Scarlett let out a long, slow breath. “You earned this. You deserve everything you’ve accomplished,” she said, her voice calm but firm. “But don’t convince yourself into thinking you need this. It won’t change anything.”

Sam bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep her emotions from rising again. “It’s not about changing anything,” she said, her voice cold. “It’s about moving forward.”

Scarlett’s eyes darkened with something Sam didn’t want to face—pity, maybe. Or sadness. “If that’s what you think you need,” she said quietly.

Scarlett’s hand slipped away from her shoulder, the weight of her absence settling in as she made her way back into the wedding venue.

And as she sat there, the cold night air biting into her cheeks, she felt it sink deeper—that familiar isolation.

The only constant she had left.