Three days.

Seventy-two hours.

Four thousand, three hundred, and twenty-eight minutes without a word from Noah. Now twenty-nine minutes. Not that I’m counting or anything.

I hoped when he heard it wasn’t my computer or house it came from, he’d call or text or . . . something. I guess he either didn’t believe it or doesn’t care.

Broken promises and a broken heart are all I have left of what we shared.

My nerves are shot, I haven’t slept, and waiting for Jackson to call with the results from the trace on who sent the email is slowly killing me. I need to know who is behind this. I’m desperate to find out who hates Noah or me enough to set out to ruin both of us.

A knock at the door sends my heart into overdrive. Maybe it’s Noah? I leap up from the couch and rush there. What am I doing? I stop short.

He left me without so much as a backward glance. I was completely expendable to him, and he hurt me, worse than Scott ever had.

Another knock.

It’s probably not him anyway. I open the door, and sure enough, it isn’t. It’s Catherine, and she brought a bouquet of flowers.

Seems we’re changing the way we handle breakups. Usually, it’s ice cream, cake, Four Blocks Down music, and a lot of wine. Flowers is a new one.

“You look like shit,” Catherine says, looking at me with her face scrunched in disgust. “Have you showered since I saw you last?”

“Do you have news?” I blurt out, needing to know if that’s why she’s here.

“These were on your porch without a card,” she tells me.

I don’t care about the stupid flowers. For all I know, they are from the person who did this to me, and they want to torture me further. I want information about the email. I’m tired of waiting and getting nowhere.

Jackson explained it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Since this isn’t technically a crime, there isn’t a judge in the world who would grant a subpoena to get the IP records. Therefore, he has a friend who has a friend who may or may not have been in the CIA. And then he assured me I should know nothing else.

“Catherine?”

“All I know is Jackson said to meet him over here when I got done working inside Starbucks since I needed to be away from the kids, so I’m here. Go get in the shower, make yourself . . . human, and we’ll sort through the info.”

“I can’t—”

“Go.” She points. “I know you’re on pins and needles, but he could be another hour. Are the kids with Scott?”

“Yes. I told him I wasn’t feeling well and needed him to keep them for a few days.”

“Good, go make yourself not look like ass.”

Not wanting to argue with her, I head to the bathroom to clean up. I stand under the water, washing away the layer of depression that clings to my skin. There’s nothing I can do about my situation. I know I’m not responsible, but it’s everyone else I have to convince. Then, I see Noah’s face as he walked away. The disappointment, anger, and resolve that we were through.

I close my eyes, leaning my back against the cold tiles, and let the tears fall.

He didn’t come back.

He must know it wasn’t me, and it didn’t change anything.

I’m alone again, only this time there’s no relief.

A knock on the door causes me to jump. “Kristin?”

I clear my throat, hoping to cover the ache in my voice. “Yeah?”

“I heard from Jackson, he’ll be here in twenty.”

“Okay.”

Once I’m finished, I get dressed and toss my hair in to a messy bun. Hopefully, the clean-but-still-distraught look is more acceptable than who-cares-if-I-die and dirty. I head into the living room where Catherine is pacing as she talks to someone on the phone.

“I understand. Yes, well, there’s not much I can do.” She pauses. “Did you tell him I’m doing exactly what I would if she weren’t family?” Catherine listens to the other person, and I stay quiet. “He can’t do that, Tristan. I don’t care that it’s already done. He . . . wait, what do you mean . . . done?” She’s talking about Noah. I know she is. I shouldn’t listen, but I can’t stop myself. I have to hear something about him. “Just like that? And you’re just telling me now? Why the hell did you wait a day to call me?” Catherine groans. “Fine. I’ll deal with this here, and you handle the mess there. Let him know he made a big mistake. Big.”

My shattered heart falls to the floor, he isn’t coming.

I purposely make a noise, not wanting to hear anything else.

Catherine’s eyes meet mine, and she smiles. “Okay, I’ll call you later.” She tosses the phone onto the table, and her eyes are soft. “You look better.”

I shrug. Right now, I feel the pain of losing him all over again. It wasn’t until then that I realized how much I thought he’d come back. I wanted it so much, and now it’s clear there isn’t another chance.

“Jackson has news?” I ask and mentally cringe at the sound of my voice.

“Kris.” Cat walks over, and I shake my head.

There’s a knock at the door, and Catherine touches my cheek. “It’s going to be okay, trust me. Jackson will fix it, he always does.”

I nod. She walks to the door, and I head to the kitchen for something to help settle my nerves. I have a feeling Jackson’s news isn’t going to help the knots in my stomach. The pantry door is open, and my lips turn up when I see the package of cookies that Noah and Aubrey shared on the shelf. His face was priceless when I caught them.

There will be no more cookie-faces for them.

Eventually, thinking of him won’t hurt. Noah will become a distant memory of a possibility that failed. Time will erase the history, cause the love we shared to fade like an old photo, but today, the vivid colors slice through my soul. There will come a day when I can’t remember what his voice sounded like, or the slight variances of green in his eyes. As much as it’s killing me right now, I don’t want to forget.

I need to stop this. I can’t keep doing this to myself. Noah is gone, it’s over, and I have to live. On the other side of the door are the answers I need so I can start to move forward.

The door swings open, and I look up right before the cup of water I’m holding falls from my numb fingers.

It isn’t Jackson standing in my living room.

I look to Catherine, who just smiles. “I’ll go wait for my husband outside,” she says before skirting out of the room.

“Kristin.” Noah’s deep voice fills the air.

This isn’t real. He can’t be here because I heard her on the phone . . . I’m going insane. I drop to the floor, grabbing the cup, and then his hands appear next to mine.

I close my eyes, hating my head for playing these games. “Stop,” I whisper to myself. “Stop this now.”

When I open them, he’s still here.

“I need to get paper towels,” I say on autopilot.

“We have to talk,” Noah says, but I can’t do this. My breathing is labored, and I shake my head. “Then I’ll talk, and you can listen . . . I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry that I didn’t listen to you.” His voice cracks. “I was wrong, Kristin. There never should’ve been a doubt in my mind that you didn’t do it, but I didn’t know what to think.”

I don’t know what to think. I’m still not completely sure I’m not having a complete mental breakdown. Between the stress of the last few days, and dreaming he would come, I don’t trust myself. I lean back onto my heels, staring at the bright green eyes I’ve longed to look at again.

“You’re here?” I ask.

“I came as soon as I heard,” Noah answers. “I left the set, and probably my career, but I needed to see you.”

I start to believe this is real. Noah is in my living room, and I can’t get a grasp on what I’m feeling most. I go from relief, to anger, to hurt, to hate, to love, to disappointment, and then back to relief. The vicious circle swirls like the blades on a helicopter, threatening to cut me with each rotation. No longer caring about the mess on the floor, I get to my feet. I need to feel taller, stronger, and find my courage to get my answers.

“Why?” I breathe the word. “Why now? Why are you here?”

Noah doesn’t touch me, but I can feel the warmth of his body. I draw in a deep breath, smelling his cologne, and start to tremble. He’s close enough I have to tilt my head to look into his eyes. “Because I love you.”

Love doesn’t break you in half. If he loved me, he would’ve seen that I would never want to cause him pain. If he loved me, he would’ve stayed and fought beside me.

“Love me? You left. You walked out and left the country.” I take a step back, reminding myself of all the hurt I’ve felt. “You can’t come here saying you love me when it was so easy for you to leave.”

“Easy?” Noah reaches for me, but I move. If he touches me, I’ll cave. “Please . . .” He drops his hand and the hurt flashes in his eyes. “There was nothing easy about leaving you, sweetheart. Nothing.”

I shake my head, choking back my tears.

“Getting on that plane was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I spent two days drinking myself to sleep. I couldn’t eat, work, or function. I saw your face in every person. All I wanted to do was come back to you.”

“But you didn’t,” I remind him. “You didn’t come for me. You didn’t even call.”

Noah’s face crumples, and he releases a heavy breath. “I fucked up. I knew if I stayed here, I’d never be able to keep away. I was so angry and hurt that I wasn’t thinking clearly. You have to believe me, I know I was stupid.”

Yes, he did fuck up. “You broke my heart, but more than that, you truly believed I would do that to you.”

“What choice did I have, Kristin? It was all there.”

“You could’ve had faith in me!” I cry out. All I wanted was a chance to prove my innocence. He couldn’t even give me that.

Noah looks down. “I did, but it wasn’t just the fact that every possible explanation was negated, it was everything. I’m not perfect.” His eyes meet mine. “I know I have things I need to work through. Trusting someone isn’t easy for me. My father left when I was a kid, my girlfriend was my heart and soul but was leaving me for something better, and then almost every person I considered a friend turned their back on me. Not to mention the fact that this industry is a breeding ground for people who will sell you out. Eli is my only friend. Everyone wants something from me, and then I met you . . .”

My heart is in my throat as I listen to his reasons. I can understand and empathize with how difficult trust is for him. I can’t say that I wouldn’t be jaded, but we were supposed to be different. I’ve never given him a reason to think I’m like those people.

“I only wanted you, Noah. I didn’t want your money, fame, your story . . . you did that. You were the one who pushed it. I would have never written about you if I had my choice. You hurt me.”

He closes his eyes as if he’s in pain and nods. “I know, and I hate myself for it. I could tell you all the reasons I had in my head, but it doesn’t change anything. The idea that you were behind it was more than I could take. I’ve never loved a woman the way I love you, Kristin. It was all there in front of me, the timing, the email, the facts that you knew were in black and white. To think that you could betray me was . . . I don’t even have words to describe how much it hurt.”

I don’t need the words because I lived it. The way I felt for him was otherworldly. I loved Noah with every fiber of my being. He was the happy in my ever after. Giving him my heart was the easiest decision I ever made and the hardest thing to take back.

“It took you three days. Three days that we knew it wasn’t me, but you didn’t even text me. Nothing until now? Why? What changed that made you decide I am worth fighting for?” I find myself inching closer to him.

His hand lifts, brushing against my cheek, leaving a burning streak in its wake. My lungs ache as he stares down at me. Noah has always taken my breath away, but right now, I feel as though I’m frozen. If I move just the slightest bit, I could crack.

“I didn’t know until about fourteen hours ago, and I was on a plane within an hour. So, I didn’t know.” Noah’s nose brushes against mine, and I breathe him in. “You’re worth everything. I’m a fool who doesn’t deserve a second chance, but I’m begging for one. Just this once, forgive me, and I’ll never hurt you again.”

I close my eyes, and a tear leaks out. Resisting Noah has never been something I’ve done. From the day I met him, he’s had a hold on me, and I don’t think I ever really had a choice in falling for him.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I murmur while moving my hands to his chest. “Just promise you won’t walk away.”

Noah’s hands cup my cheeks. “I promise. I don’t think I could survive it.”

Our eyes meet, and I see the regret he feels. “I know I can’t.”

“Forgive me,” he pleads. “Forgive me for being so stupid.”

“I did the second I saw you.”

It’s the truth. The instant our eyes met, my forgiveness was his. Noah is the man I love. He’s the one I want beside me, and even if he left, he came back, and I can’t endure the thought of giving up on a second chance.

Noah pulls me to him as his lips move closer. My fingers slide up his chest and around to the back of his neck. I hold on as our mouths find each other. He kisses me like a dying man who found a cure to save him. For the first time in three days, I’m able to breathe without pain in my chest. His tongue slides against mine, and I could cry.

Our lips break, and he presses his head to mine. “I didn’t know if I’d ever get to kiss you again,” he admits. “I would’ve never stopped trying to win you back.”

I wrap my arms around his waist, rest my head on his chest, and melt into his embrace. “You wouldn’t have had a hard fight.”

He rubs his fingers against my spine. “I love you, Kristin.”

“I love you,” I say, lifting my head to look into his eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

It still stings, and we still don’t know who did this, but he came back.

“I can’t fully blame you. If I didn’t know with absolute certainty I didn’t do it, I would have a hard time. This person went to a lot of trouble to make it look like I wrote that article.”

Noah brings his lips to mine several times before releasing me. “Do you know who did this yet?”

“No. The only proof we have is that it wasn’t any of my devices. There are still a lot of unanswered questions swirling around. Who else knows? How did they find out? And how did they know to use my information because I can’t tell if it was to destroy me or you? But Jackson is on his way with those answers, I hope,” I tell him.

This person is deeply entwined in both of our lives. There are names I refuse to entertain because I can’t fathom they would do something like this, but Noah and I don’t know a lot of mutual people.

“What did you tell the kids?” he asks.

“They’ve been with their father while I tried to pick up the pieces.”

Noah rubs his thumb against the top of my hand. “I’ll fix what I broke. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make you feel safe with me. You will never have to question how I feel, sweetheart. I love you with every piece of me, and I won’t doubt you.”

Catherine clears her throat as she opens the door. “You guys okay?”

Such a loaded question. But when I look in Noah’s eyes, I don’t have to think too hard. He’s here. He loves me. And he believes me.

I look back at her with a smile and then nod. “I think we’re going to be just fine.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Cat grins.

The door opens the rest of the way, revealing Jackson is standing right behind her. They both come inside, and Jackson doesn’t waste a second before asking, “Are you sure you want to know all of this?”

I look to Noah and then back to Jackson. “Not a doubt in my mind.”