They say all good things come to an end, and I guess this is mine. Maybe I’m getting what I deserve and was a fool to think I could change my story. I’m the villain. The bad guy. And I’m not even the one you love to hate. The darkness in me is of my own creation, brought forth from every bad choice I’ve made, and I’ve made a lot. Even when I try to do the right thing, the world laughs and throws in another plot twist. And not even the best storyteller can get me out of this one.

I lied to Ana. Destroyed the one thing that most solidified our relationship. The trust has been broken, and I can never get it back.

She’s gone.

I want to be gone too.

I woke up this morning alone, and found the pineapple keychain on the kitchen table, along with a note that I haven’t brought myself to read yet. I hold the keychain in my hands, the metal warm from my skin, and concentrate on breathing. It’s hard to do that right now. I feel broken, like part of my soul and all of my heart has been ripped out.

I flip the keychain over in my hands, missing Ana so much it hurts. She printed her flight info in my office, and I was able to see when she’s leaving, and it’s not for another three hours…and the flight isn’t full.

Sunlight reflects off the gold keychain. I close my eyes. I want to go to Ana. I want to tell her I love her. I don’t want to live without her. She’s made me a better person without even trying.

But I’m still not good enough.

Which is why I’m sitting here. I love her enough to let her go.

I hang my head, not knowing how I’m going to go on after this. Ana gave purpose to my life, more than getting up and going to work.

“Fuck!” I yell and pound my fist down on the table. I’m so fucking pissed at myself for screwing this up. I throw the key across the room as hard as I can. It hits the tiled backsplash and falls into the sink. I ball my fists and let out a breath, eyes going to Ana’s note.

Certain it tells me to leave her the fuck alone for the rest of my life, I didn’t pick it up before. Not allowing myself to think, I reach for the folded piece of computer paper. A quarter falls out and rolls away, coming to a stop under the oven. I look down at the paper and read what Ana wrote.

I read her words over and over, trying to make sense of it all. And then it hits me, and I know exactly what I have to do. I don’t need to flip for it this time because no matter what, I’m going to her.

* * *

I look down at the ticket to find what gate I need to go to. The plane leaves in half an hour, and boarding will start soon. My heart is racing and I know this moment right here will define the rest of my life.

Because Ana is my life.

I pass by a group of slow moving people, not caring that I bumped into one of them. I need to get to Ana. Finally, I see her sitting at the gate, twisting her dark hair around her finger and looking out the large window. I’m not sure why she turns and looks the moment she does, but our eyes meet and she stands.

“Ana,” I call and rush to her.

“Cole.” Her eyebrows come together. “What are you doing here?”

“I can’t lose you. I’m an idiot who doesn’t deserve you, but I’m madly in love with you, Ana.”

She blinks, not knowing what to say. “You bought a plane ticket?” she finally asks, looking at my boarding pass.

“It was the only way I could get through security to see you.”

She turns her head up, tears in her eyes. “Cole…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I’m so, so sorry for lying. I should have told you about the promotion but didn’t want to mention it in case I didn’t get it. Call me self-absorbed but I didn’t want to go through the letdown of not getting it in case things didn’t pan out. And I should have told you that Caitlin Black wouldn’t approve of an editor dating an author. I thought I could keep my work life and personal life separate, but I know now that’s not possible because you are my life, Ana, and I want you in every part of it.”

Ana clasps her hands on her elbows and nods.

“I did lie to you, back when we first met.”

“You did?”

I nod and reach into my back pocket. “That night in the bar…the first time you flipped the coin you told me heads we go home, tails we go out.”

“I remember.”

“It landed on heads.”

“But you…

I open my palm, showing her the quarter that I saved from that night. “I lied. You had an impact on me from the start and I tried so fucking hard to resist it. But for some reason, I couldn’t, and the moment that coin got tossed into the air, I knew no matter what, I didn’t want the night to end.”

Ana takes the quarter from me, looking at the running horses stamped in to represent the state of Nevada. “It’s the same one.”

“I never believed in love at first sight, and I wasn’t sure soul mates existed, but you…you’ve changed everything. You changed me, and I don’t want to go back to the person I was before I met you. You make me see the good in things, and you make me want to be a better person. I can’t imagine my life without you, Ana, and frankly, I don’t want to. I love you, Ana. Before I met you, I didn’t think love was real. But you changed that. You make me believe not only in love but in magic. I love you.”

A tear rolls down Ana’s cheek. “I love you, too.”

She throws her arms around my neck and I hold her close. We kiss, and just like the first time, everything around me fades away.

“Now what?” she asks once we part.

“I…I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

Her eyes meet mine. “Go home.”